THE  WHITE-TAILED  DEER 


jr. 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 


CHICAGO 

1922 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

F4bt 


PIKE 
PICKEREL 

AND 

MUSKALONGE 

by 
ALFPJED   C  WEED 

Assistant  Curator  of  Tnhes 

THE  LIBRARY  nF  m 
SEP  7     1927 

UNIVEHSliY   ur    iti-UMUlS 

ZOOLOGY  LEAFLET 
9 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF 

NATURAL  HISTORY 

Chicaqo 


The  Zoolog-ical  Leaflets  of  Field  Museum  are  de- 
voted to  brief,  non-technical  accounts  of  the  history, 
classification,  distribution  and  life  habits  of  animals, 
with  especial  reference  to  subjects  shown  in  the 
Museum's  exhibits. 

LIST  OF  ZOOLOGICAL  LEAFLETS  ISSUED  TO  DATE 

No.  1.  The  White- tailed  Deer $  .10 

No.  2.  Chicago  Winter  Birds .        .10 

No.  3.  The  Ameraca/i  Aljigator 10 

No.  4.  The  Periodifcal  Cicadd'^»^">i.i    .Iv' 10 

No.  5.  The  Alligator  Gar 10 

No.  6.  The  Wild  Turkey 10 

No.  7.  The  Man-Eaters  of  Tsavo 50 

No.  8.  Mammals  of  the  Chicago  Area 25 

No.  9.  Pike,  Pickerel -and  Muskalpnge.  v .»:  ^ 75 


D.  C.  DAVIES,  Director 


FIELD  MUSEUM  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY 
CHICAGO,  U.  S.  A. 


THE  UB^*^Y  r.f  THE 
SEP  7     1927 

UNIVEHSlfY  Of   *LlINOIS 


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Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

DEPARTMENT  OF  ZOOLOGY 
Chicago,  1927 

Leaflet  Number  9 

Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 

Freshwater  anglers  have  many  general  points  of 
discussion,  not  the  least  of  which  is  the  question  of  the 
proper  names  of  Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge.  There 
are  few  questions  carrying  more  possibilities  of  argu- 
ment, difference  of  opinion  and  general  misunder- 
standing than  this.  The  fish  concerned  are  mostly  of 
large  size  and  have  high  qualities  both  as  food  and 
game.  They  belong  in  two  groups,  the  true  Pikes, 
genus  Esox  of  the  pike  family,  Esocidae ;  and  the  so- 
called  Walleyed  Pike  and  the  Saugers,  which  belong 
to  the  perch  family,  Percidae. 

The  trouble  would  be  quite  serious  enough  if  we 
were  only  concerned  with  members  of  the  true  pike 
family,  of  which  there  are  six  species  in  North  Amer- 
ica. These,  using  the  names  considered  preferable,  are 
the  Chain  Pickerel,  Trout  Pickerel,  Pickerel,  Northern 
Muskalonge,  St.  Lawrence  Muskalonge  and  Chautau- 
qua Muskalonge.  Unfortunately  many  of  the  same 
names  have  been  applied  to  the  walleyes  and  saugers 
which  are  members  of  the  perch  family.  These  are 
very  different  in  essential  points  of  structure  although 
similar  in  habits  and  general  appearance.  The  extent 
of  the  difficulty  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  that 
there  are  as  many  as  eighty  names  for  one  fish  and 
seven  fish  for  one  name. 

In  the  present  paper  an  attempt  is  made  to  solve 
the  difficulty  by  giving  descriptions  and  pictures  of  all 

[  153  ] 


2  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

the  fishes  involved,  together  with  a  list  of  names  which 
have  been  or  are  applied  to  each.  The  list  is,  of  course, 
not  complete.  Nev,^  names  are  all  the  time  being 
brought  to  the  author's  attention,  but  it  is  hoped  that 
it  is  complete  enough  so  that  two  fishermen  may  talk 
together  without  having  to  spend  too  much  time  argu- 
ing about  the  names  of  the  fish  they  are  discussing. 

The  colored  plates  are  the  work  of  Mr.  Leon  L. 
Pray,  Fish  Taxidermist  of  Field  Museum,  and  with 
three  exceptions  are  from  his  own  studies  from  life.  The 
plate  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Muskalonge  (Plate  3)  is 
adapted  from  a  colored  plate  prepared  by  S.  A.  Kil- 
bourne  and  published  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons  in 
1879.  The  Trout  Pickerel  (Plate  7,  lower  figure)  is 
adapted  from  a  specimen  mounted  by  Francis  West. 
The  outline  of  the  Chain  Pickerel  (Plate  5)  is  from  a 
photograph  and  the  coloring  adapted  from  a  colored 
plate  by  Mr.  Louis  Rhead. 

A  large  part  of  the  value  of  this  work  is  due  to  the 
assistance  of  Mr.  George  P.  Engelhardt,  Mr.  Louis 
Rhead,  the  New  York  State  Conservation  Commission 
and  the  Wisconsin  Conservation  Commission  in  fur- 
nishing many  of  the  specimens  used  in  preparing  both 
the  text  and  the  colored  plates. 

Color  of  the  Pikes 
Few  persons  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  color  of  fishes. 
In  our  ordinary  associations  we  see  few  things  that  have 
the  power  of  changing  color  or  color  pattern  at  will. 
The  Bobolink  is  a  beautiful  black  and  white  bird  as  he 
sings  over  the  meadows  in  early  summer.  A  few  weeks 
later  he  changes  to  the  streaked  brown  color  of  his  mate 
for  the  journey  south.  The  Snow  Bunting  when  it  comes 
to  us  in  early  winter  has  various  shades  of  buff  and 
tan.  When  it  goes  north  in  early  spring  it  is  plain  black 
and  white,  with  no  buffy  markings  at  all.  There  are  few 

[154] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  3 

birds  or  mammals  which  can  produce  more  complete 
or  sudden  changes  than  these.  Lizards  have  more 
power  over  their  color  and  some  of  the  changes  have 
been  widely  advertised.  The  power  of  the  Chameleon 
in  this  respect  has  even  formed  the  basis  of  one  of 
iEsop's  fables.  In  New  Orleans  as  the  sun  comes  out 
after  a  sudden  shower  we  may  see  a  bright  green  lizard 
crawl  off  a  banana  leaf  onto  a  fence.  In  a  few  seconds 
it  has  changed  to  the  exact  color  of  the  wet  wood.  A 
little  later,  when  the  wood  has  dried  to  a  silvery  gray 
we  may  find  the  lizard  still  there  and  still  the  exact 
color  of  the  board  on  which  it  is  sunning  itself. 

It  is  not  at  all  well  known  that  many,  if  not  most, 
fishes  have  greater  power  over  not  only  their  color  but 
even  their  color  pattern  than  the  Chameleon,  This  is 
especially  true  of  the  fishes  that  live  in  rather  shallow 
water  and  hide  among  rocks,  logs  or  other  objects. 
Those  that  live  about  mud  banks  or  in  muddy  water 
do  not  need  this  power  and  usually  do  not  have  it.  A 
fish  which  is  showing  all  its  most  brilliant  colors  for 
the  purpose  of  attracting  attention  may  suddenly  meet 
another  a  trifle  larger  and  stronger.  The  smaller  one 
will  turn  pale  even  while  it  is  starting  to  escape. 

Few  fish  have  greater  power  of  changing  color 
and  color  pattern  with  every  passing  mood  or  every 
change  in  surroundings  than  the  pikes  and  pickerels. 
Moving  from  the  shelter  of  a  mass  of  bright  green 
Myriophyllum  to  a  mass  of  Potamogeton  with  the 
stems  and  under  sides  of  the  leaves  red  or  brown,  one 
of  these  fishes  will  change  from  a  pattern  of  bright 
green  and  greenish  silver  with  plain  fins  to  a  pattern 
of  bro\\^ls  with  red  fins.  Under  the  Myriophyllum  the 
markings  may  be  very  fine,  the  light  and  dark  streaks 
less  than  the  width  of  a  scale.  Moving  to  the  shelter 
of  a  willow  bush  on  the  bank,  the  dark  and  light  bands 

[155] 


4  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

may  change  so  that  the  fish  will  be  almost  as  coarsely 
barred  as  a  Yellow  Perch. 

There  are  a  few  basic  patterns  which  are  fairly 
constant,  but  the  variations  are  without  number.  All 
young  pikes  and  the  adults  of  several  species  have  a 
rather  regular  cross  barring  as  is  shown  on  Plates  1, 
2  and  7.  This  pattern  is  hardly  ever  as  simple  as  is 
shown  in  the  lower  figure  of  Plate  7.  That  pattern  is 
almost  unknown  except  in  the  New  England  region, 
where  the  fish  commonly  live  under  the  shade  of  bushes 
which  fringe  the  banks  of  small  streams.  Young  speci- 
mens often  have  a  similar  pattern,  with  the  cross  bars 
divided  by  a  horizontal  light  stripe  along  the  middle 
of  each  side.  A  further  variation  might  be  to  move 
one  set  of  blotches  a  short  distance  so  as  to  produce  a 
checker-board  pattern. 

The  blotches  in  the  straight  or  the  checkered  pat- 
tern may  split  vertically  and  produce  a  zigzag  pattern 
or  a  pattern  of  much  narrower  cross  bars.  In  very 
young  specimens,  the  pattern  of  the  lower  figure  on 
Plate  7  may  be  still  farther  reduced  so  as  to  form 
blotches,  almost  square,  on  the  sides.  This  latter  pat- 
tern is  seldom  seen  in  fish  more  than  three  to  four 
inches  long.  A  Trout  Pickerel,  about  eight  inches 
long,  from  Gainesville,  Florida,  has  as  well  marked  a 
reticulate  pattern  as  is  shown  for  the  hybrid  pickerel 
on  Plate  6.  Another,  about  eleven  inches  long,  has 
varied  in  another  direction.  The  narrow  cross  stripes 
shown  on  the  middle  figure  of  Plate  7  are  divided  again 
vertically  and  then  spread  out  until  all  that  is  left  is  a 
series  of  fine  diagonal  lines,  parallel  with  the  edges  of 
the  scales,  forming  a  network  of  which  each  mesh  en- 
closes two  or  four  scales.  It  should  be  remembered  that 
all  the  patterns  shown  on  Plate  7  can  be  produced  at  will 
by  any  of  those  fish.  The  one  at  the  bottom  is  not 
often  produced  in  just  that  form  except  by  the  Trout 

[166] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  5 

Pickerel  but  the  individual  carrying  that  pattern  could 
have  changed  in  a  fraction  of  a  second  to  either  of  the 
other  patterns  shown.  It  could  have  changed  also  to 
a  pattern  of  bright  greens  or  to  a  combination  of  dark 
and  silvery  greens. 

Color  changes  among  the  members  of  this  group 
are  quite  as  startling  as  the  changes  of  pattern  al- 
though they  are,  perhaps,  not  quite  so  common.  Any 
of  the  fish  sho\\ii  on  Plate  7  could  assume  the  color  of 
any  of  the  others  at  will.  However,  the  usual  color  of 
any  of  these  fish  is,  probably,  more  constant  than  the 
color  pattern.  The  fish  adapts  its  color  to  its  surround- 
ings and  sticks  pretty  closely  to  one  locality.  A  Pick- 
erel may  be  found  in  one  place  day  after  day  for  wxeks 
at  a  time.  It  is  very  exact  in  its  placing,  always  headed 
the  same  way  and  always  the  same  distance  from  a  cer- 
tain stick  or  tuft  of  weeds.  Thus  its  eye  is  in  position 
to  watch  through  the  same  water  lanes. 

The  color  of  any  of  this  group  may  vary  from  al- 
most plain  silvery  to  a  moss  green  so  dark  as  to  be  prac- 
tically black,  A\ith  all  the  greens  and  yellows  and  some 
of  the  reds  in  between.  In  all  cases,  the  color  and  color 
pattern  are  so  arranged  that  they  give  the  fish  a  close 
resemblance  to  some  natural  object  nearby.  It  is 
usually  a  stick  or  log  that  the  fish  resembles  and  the 
arrangement  of  light  and  dark  will  look  like  spots  of 
sunlight  and  shade.  The  Pickerel  lies  in  wait  in  rather 
open  places  and  his  spots  look  like  the  little  specks  of 
sunlight  shining  on  the  bottom  through  the  ripples  at 
the  surface.  The  Grass  Pickerel  hides  in  the  shade  of 
the  water  plants  and  his  cross  bars  are  like  the  shad- 
ows of  the  long,  narrow  leaves.  When  the  Northern 
Muskalonge  lurks  in  an  old  tree  top  his  cross  bars  are 
like  the  shadows  of  the  dead  limbs. 

The  Trout  Pickerel  usually  lives  in  water  stained 
brown  with  the  leaves  of  the  forest  and  swamp  trees 

[157] 


6  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

and  plants.  Also  most  of  the  water  plants  have  brown- 
ish leaves  or  stems  or  both.  It  arranges  its  color 
accordingly.  The  color  of  the  lower  figure  of  Plate  7 
would  indicate  that  the  fish  was  taken  in  a  swampy 
stream  or  pond  where  the  water  was  quite  brownish 
and  that  the  fish  usually  stayed  in  the  shelter  of  a  tree 
top  or  of  bushes  that  hung  over  the  bank.  If  the 
same  fish  had  been  in  the  habit  of  watching  for  food 
from  the  shelter  of  a  mass  of  bright  green  water  plants 
with  fine  leaves,  it  would  have  shown  about  the  same 
color  and  pattern  as  the  middle  figure  of  Plate  7,  or 
even  with  finer  markings  and  a  brighter  green  color. 
The  finer  markings  of  the  Grass  Pickerel  show  that 
it  is  more  a  creature  of  the  open  bay  than  of  the  bushy 
stream.  There  is  no  real  point  of  difference  by  which 
we  can  separate  the  Trout  Pickerel  of  New  England 
from  the  Grass  Pickerel  of  Lake  Ontario.  They  are 
found  all  the  way  from  Maine  to  Florida,  across  the 
Gulf  coast  to  Texas,  up  the  Mississippi  to  southern 
Wisconsin  and  down  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  St.  Law- 
rence. There  is  a  rather  regular  variation  all  the  way 
around  but  no  dividing  point  between  one  and  the 
other.  They  can  probably  be  divided  into  several  geo- 
graphic races  or  varieties  which  are  well  marked 
enough  to  receive  separate  names.  The  form  in  the 
Great  Lakes  seems  to  be  different  from  the  one  in  the 
Ohio  River.  The  one  in  New  England  is  different  from 
the  one  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay  region.  The  Florida 
group  is  different  from  either  and  there  will  probably 
be  other  groups  that  can  be  recognized.  The  differ- 
ences between  any  one  group  and  its  near  neighbors 
are  very  slight  and  can  be  seen  only  in  the  average  of 
a  large  number  of  specimens,  but  the  differences  be- 
tween the  two  ends  of  the  series  are  very  well  marked 
as  is  seen  in  the  two  lower  figures  of  Plate  7.  The  mid- 
dle figure  of  that  plate  represents  a  common  pattern 

[158] 


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Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  7 

as  seen  in  Sodus  Bay,  New  York,  one  of  the  largest 
baj'S  along  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  while  the 
lower  figure  represents  a  common  pattern  on  Long 
Island  and  northeastward. 

The  group  of  Muskalonge  seems  to  have  pretty- 
nearly  the  primitive  color  and  color  pattern  of  the 
pikes.  In  the  Chautauqua  Muskalonge,  Plate  2,  the 
pattern  of  the  adult  fish  is  practically  the  same  as  in 
the  Trout  Pickerel  or  the  Grass  Pickerel.  The  main 
difi'erence  is  that  the  markings  are  larger  in  actual 
size,  if  not  proportionately,  because  the  fish  is  so  much 
larger.  There  is  the  added  difference,  that,  in  the 
smaller  species,  very  large  adults  show  a  great  tend- 
ency for  the  dark  streaks  to  break  up  into  a  veiy 
intricate  and  irregular  pattern,  which  gave  one  scien- 
tific name  to  part  of  the  group  from  their  resemblance 
to  worm  tracks.  The  Northern  IMuskalonge  (Plate  1) 
carries  the  same  pattern  but  shows  a  decided  tendency 
for  it  to  break  up  into  roundish  or  elliptical  spots.  This 
fish  also  shows  a  very  strong  tendency  to  lose  all  color 
markings  and  become  simply  a  green,  golden  or  silvery 
bronze,  usually  with  some  traces  of  cross  barring  on 
the  tail.  The  St.  Lawrence  Muskalonge  (Plate  3)  has 
carried  this  tendency  a  step  farther  and  has  reduced 
the  color  pattern  to  a  series  of  roundish  or  elliptical 
spots.  The  color  of  the  three  is  also  different.  The 
Northern  Muskalonge  lives  in  water  which  is  often 
stained  almost  as  red  as  the  liquor  of  the  tan  vats. 
So  the  fish  is  more  or  less  of  a  golden  bronze,  varying 
to  green  tones  where  it  lives  in  masses  of  weeds  in 
clear  water.  The  St.  La^^1•ence  Musky  lives  in  very 
clear  streams  and  lakes  and  is  gray  and  silvery  to 
match.  The  Ohio  River  fish  lives  in  water  not  quite 
so  clear  and  may  be  more  partial  to  the  weed  beds.  Its 
color  is  largely  a  mixture  of  beautiful  greens. 

[159] 


8  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

The  color  pattern  of  the  Pickerel  (Plate  4)  is  a 
rather  regular  arrangement  of  light  spots  on  a  darker 
background.  The  spots  may  be  greenish-golden,  pearly 
or  yellowish  and  the  background  may  vary  from  sil- 
very to  various  shades  of  green.  However  great  may 
be  the  changes  in  color,  the  pattern  of  the  adult  re- 
mains constant;  that  is,  when  it  is  spotted  there  are 
about  the  same  number  and  size  of  spots  in  the  same 
location.  The  spots  do  not  seem  to  change  place  or 
size.  When  young,  the  Pickerel  has  about  the  same 
color  pattern  as  all  other  young  fish  of  the  genus,  as 
is  shown  in  the  upper  figure  of  Plate  7.  When  it 
reaches  a  length  of  a  little  more  than  a  foot,  the  bars 
on  the  flanks  between  the  pectoral  and  ventral  fins 
(see  p.  13)  begin  to  break  up  and  lose  their  regular- 
ity. Finally  they  enclose  light  colored  spots.  This 
change  spreads  over  the  body  rather  rapidly,  the  bars 
disappearing  on  the  tail  last. 

The  color  pattern  of  the  Muskalonge,  where  it 
differs  from  that  of  the  young,  seems  to  be  produced 
mainly  by  the  closing  of  some  color  cells.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  an  adult  St.  Lawrence  Muskalonge  could, 
on  occasion,  show  quite  as  strongly  barred  a  color  pat- 
tern as  any  from  the  Ohio  River.  The  pattern  of  the 
Pickerel  seems  to  be  produced  in  a  similar  way.  The 
oval  light  spots  are  produced  by  widening  the  light 
bars  in  some  places  and  narrowing  them  in  others. 
An  adult  Pickerel  with  the  barred  color  pattern  may 
have  been  in  the  habit  of  lying  in  a  place  where  the 
lights  and  shadows  are  of  that  kind.  A  beautiful  ex- 
ample of  this  was  seen  not  long  ago  in  the  aquarium 
at  Lincoln  Park,  Chicago.  A  tank  of  Pickerel  from 
Homer,  Minnesota,  was  being  watched  carefully  to 
determine  whether  certain  barred  specimens  were 
Pickerel  or  Northern  Muskalonge.  One  of  the  speci- 
mens at  first  showed  a  plain  barring  about  like  that  in 

[160  ] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  9 

the  upper  figure  of  Plate  7.  As  it  swam  toward  the 
front  of  the  tank,  it  began  to  show  ghostly  traces  of 
the  ordinary  spotting  of  the  others.  These  faded 
again,  leaving  the  fish  barred.  A  few  minutes  later 
the  fish  suddenly  changed  its  color  pattern  to  the 
regularly  spotted  one  shown  on  Plate  4.  This  speci- 
men was  then  lost  in  the  crowd,  but  it  is  likely  that 
it  changed  back  again  because  the  number  of  barred 
individuals  in  the  tank  was  seen  to  vary  from  two  to 
four  at  different  times  that  day. 

These  changes  are  produced  by  changes  in  the 
expansion  of  the  color  cells  or  "chromatophores"  in 
the  skin.  These  strange  groupings  of  black  coloring 
matter  behave  almost  as  though  they  were  separate 
living  creatures.  They  can  contract  until  they  become 
very  small  dots  which  can  hardly  be  seen  ^^^th  a  micro- 
scope, or  they  can  spread  out  until  they  meet  and  pro- 
duce a  solid  black.  The  changes  are  under  control  of 
the  fish  and  can  occur  in  a  very  short  time. 

The  color  pattern  of  the  Chain  Pike  (Plate  5)  may 
be  considered  as  simply  an  exaggeration  of  that  of  the 
Pickerel,  although  it  is  produced  in  a  rather  different 
manner.  If  we  consider  the  light  spots  of  the  Pickerel 
opened  out  until  they  practically  cover  the  body,  leav- 
ing only  narrow,  reticulated  lines  between,  we  shall 
have  the  ordinary  color  of  the  Eastern  Pickerel  or 
Chain  Pike.  The  change  from  the  barred  to  the  net- 
work pattern  seems  to  be  produced  by  an  actual  migra- 
tion of  the  color  cells.  It  usually  begins  on  the  flanks 
between  the  pectoral  (see  page  13)  and  ventral  fins. 
The  cross  bars  change  their  direction,  twist  around 
irregularly  and  finally  arrange  themselves  in  the  new 
pattern.  This  change  extends  rather  quickly  to  the 
rest  of  the  body  and  in  a  few  vs^eeks  the  pattern  is 
entirely  different. 

[161] 


10  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

If  we  considered  the  color  pattern  of  the  Chain 
Pike  derived  from  that  of  the  Pickerel  we  might  think 
that  the  St.  Lawrence  Muskalonge  had  gone  farther 
and  discarded  all  but  the  knots  of  its  pattern.  It 
does  not  seem  to  get  its  spots  in  that  way,  however, 
but  by  the  more  simple  method  of  merely  pinching  off 
small  parts  of  the  cross  bars  of  its  baby  coloration. 

Hybrids 

There  has  been  much  discussion  of  the  possibility 
of  hybrids  between  the  various  species  of  pikes  and 
pickerels.  Largely  on  theoretical  grounds,  many  have 
denied  the  possibility  of  such  specimens  in  nature. 
Lately,  however,  there  has  accumulated  a  large  body 
of  evidence  showing  that  hybridization  is  not  only 
possible  but  is  comparatively  common  among  wild 
animals.  In  the  region  around  Washington,  D.  C, 
hybridization  seems  to  be  the  only  explanation  possible 
to  account  for  the  many  specimens  which  seem  to  be 
intermediate  between  the  Chain  Pike  and  the  Trout 
Pickerel.  Indeed,  there  it  seems  likely  that  it  is  quite 
a  common  occurrence  among  many  groups  of  fishes. 

Several  years  ago  two  specimens  were  caught  in 
the  Dead  River  at  Beach,  Illinois,  a  short  distance 
north  of  Chicago.  It  is  known  that  Muskalonge  have 
been  planted  in  that  stream.  These  two  specimens 
are  like  ordinary  Pickerel  except  that  the  scaling  on 
the  head  is  like  that  of  the  Muskalonge.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  they  are  hybrids. 

One  specimen  of  Chautauqua  Muskalonge  sent  to 
Field  Museum  from  Bemus  Point,  N.  Y.,  had  a  distinct 
patch  of  scales  on  the  cheeks.  It  is  possible  that  this 
may  have  been  a  hybrid. 

In  Cayuga  Lake,  N.  Y.,  the  Pickerel  is  native  and 
very  common.  The  Chain  Pike  is  also  very  common 
in  that  lake.    As  the  latter  fish  is  not  found  in  Lake 

[162  ] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  11 

Ontario,  it  is  supposed  it  came  into  the  Finger  Lakes 
region  after  the  building  of  the  Erie  Canal.  Occasion- 
ally specimens  are  found  in  that  lake  which  do  not 
seem  to  belong  to  either  species.  One  of  these  was 
recently  collected  by  Mr.  George  McNeill  and  is  ex- 
hibited in  Field  Museum  (Plate  6) . 

This  specimen  is  so  unusual  in  many  ways  that  it 
is  worthy  of  a  special  description.  It  is  a  male,  32 
inches  in  total  length  and  26  inches  to  the  base  of  the 
tail.  It  is  reported  that  it  weighed  TVs  pounds.  There 
were  120  scales  in  a  row  from  the  upper  angle  of  the 
gill  opening  to  the  middle  of  the  tail.  There  were  14 
fully  developed  dorsal  (see  p.  13)  rays  and  12  fully 
developed  anal  rays.  It  also  had  a  dark  bar  under  the 
eye  and  a  black  horizontal  line  through  the  eye.  This 
is  like  the  Chain  Pike.  In  color  of  body  it  was  mixed. 
There  were  small  round  spots  like  those  of  the  Pick- 
erel, but  smaller.  These  were  partly  hidden  by  a  faint 
barring  like  that  of  the  Chautauqua  Muskalonge.  The 
body  color  had  a  brassy  tint  like  that  of  the  Chain 
Pike.  The  fins  were  bright  red  as  in  highly  colored 
specimens  of  the  Chain  Pike.  The  shape  of  the  body 
was  not  like  either  but  much  deeper  and  more  rounded. 
The  Chain  Pike  and  the  Pickerel  are  more  or  less 
square-sided,  many  of  them  being  nearly  rectangular 
in  cross  section.  In  shape,  this  fish  resembles  large, 
mature  specimens  of  the  Grass  Pike.  The  color  pat- 
tern, also,  is  like  the  one  we  might  expect  to  find  on 
very  large  Grass  Pike.  Specimens  a  foot  long  show 
some  spotting  on  the  flanks  which  is  just  like  the  spot- 
ting all  over  the  body  of  this  fish.  All  the  pikes  which 
are  spotted  begin  to  change  pattern  just  where  the 
Grass  Pike  usually  stops.  This  supposed  hybrid  has 
the  shape  of  a  very  mature  fish.  Except  for  the  scal- 
ing on  the  gill  covers  and  the  size,  this  fish  might  have 
been  identified  as  a  very  mature  specimen  of  Grass 

[1631 


12  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Pike;  but  there  are  no  Grass  Pike  in  Cayuga  Lake. 
The  supposed  hybrid  has  the  cheek  scaling  of  the  Pick- 
erel except  that  there  is  a  double  row  of  scales  down 
the  front  edge  of  the  opercle,  just  behind  the  cheek. 
This  is  just  the  same  arrangement  of  scales  as  was 
found  in  some  hybrids  which  Professor  George  C.  Em- 
body of  Cornell  University  produced  artifically. 

It  is  not  possible  to  prove  that  the  Ithaca  specimen 
is  or  is  not  a  hybrid.  If  Professor  Embody  can  produce 
some  more  hybrids  and  raise  them  to  the  age  where 
they  will  change  to  the  color  pattern  of  the  adult  we 
shall  know  more  about  the  matter.  At  present  we  can 
only  say  that  this  specimen  is  one  of  the  most  gorge- 
ously colored  pickerels  ever  seen,  that  it  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  very  old  fish,  that  it  combines  distinctive 
characters  of  the  two  species  which  are  found  in  the 
same  waters  and  that  it  does  not  belong  to  any  known 
species.  A  traveler  returning  from  the  interior  of 
Africa  or  South  America  with  so  well  marked  a  form 
would  have  no  hesitation  in  describing  it  as  a  new  spe- 
cies. We  can  hardly  do  the  same  because  the  fishes  of 
Cayuga  Lake  have  been  studied  so  carefully  for  so  many 
years  that  it  seems  necessary  to  find  another  explana- 
tion. 

Technical  Terms 

There  are  a  few  technical  terms  for  which  defini- 
tions may  be  desirable.  The  fish  has  five  groups  of 
fins:  dorsal,  caudal,  anal,  ventral  and  pectoral.  The 
dorsal,  caudal  and  anal  are  called  "vertical  fins."  The 
ventral  and  pectoral  are  the  "paired  fins."  The  posi- 
tion of  these  fins  is  shown  in  the  diagram  (Fig.  1) .  In 
the  pikes  there  is  a  single  dorsal,  anal  and  caudal  fin. 
Other  fishes  may  have  more  than  one,  although  it  is 
rather  unusual  to  have  more  than  one  anal  or  caudal 
fin.    In  the  Walleye  (Plate  8)  there  are  two  dorsals, 

[164] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


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14  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

the  first  of  "spines,"  the  second  of  "soft  rays"  and  one 
"spine." 

The  "total  length"  of  a  fish  is  the  distance  from 
the  extreme  front  of  the  head,  whether  that  is  the  tip 
of  the  lower  jaw  or  the  tip  of  the  snout,  to  the  end  of 
the  longest  caudal  rays.  Because  the  tip  of  the  tail  is 
so  easily  broken  off,  it  is  usual  in  a  scientific  descrip- 
tion to  use  the  "standard  length,"  which  is  measured 
to  the  end  of  the  last  vertebra  or  segment  of  the  "back- 
bone." In  most  fishes  that  is  about  opposite  the  very 
first  rays  of  the  caudal  fin.  The  length  of  the  head  is 
the  distance  from  the  tip  of  the  snout  or  of  the  lower 
jaw,  whichever  extends  the  farthest  forward,  to  the 
end  of  the  bony  part  of  the  opercle.  The  "snout"  is 
the  length  from  the  front  of  the  eye  to  the  tip  of  the 
upper  jaw.  Where  the  lower  jaw  projects  as  it  does 
in  the  pikes,  the  length  of  the  snout  is  less  than  the  pre- 
orbital  part  of  the  head.  The  "preorbital"  is  all  that 
part  of  the  head  in  front  of  the  eye.  The  postorbital  is 
all  that  part  of  the  head  which  is  behind  the  eye.  The 
"cheek"  is  that  part  of  the  side  of  the  head  which  is 
just  behind  and  below  the  eye.  It  is  part  of  the  mov- 
able structure  which  makes  up  the  side  of  the  mouth 
and  the  gill  cover.  The  "opercle"  is  the  true  "gill 
cover."  It  is  that  part  of  the  side  of  the  head  which  is 
behind  the  cheek  and  is  usually  marked  off  from  it  by 
a  distinct  groove. 

The  branchiostegal  rays,  more  commonly  called 
branchiostegals,  strengthen  and  support  the  gill  mem- 
branes below  the  cheeks  and  opercles.  There  must  be 
great  flexibility  at  that  point  to  permit  the  swallowing 
of  large  prey  and  at  the  same  time  there  must  be  stiff- 
ness to  prevent  collapse  when  the  mouth  opens  in  the 
act  of  breathing.  Their  number  is  quite  unifonn  in 
the  different  species  and  furnishes  one  of  the  most 
reliable  characters  in  separating  groups. 

[166] 


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Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  15 

The  number  of  rays  in  the  paired  fins  is  not  usually 
counted  in  this  group  because  it  is  difficult  to  do  so  sat- 
isfactorily and  the  final  result  seems  to  have  little  mean- 
ing. In  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins,  the  short  rays  at  the 
front  are  not  counted.  Only  those  are  considered  that 
reach  to  or  nearly  to  the  top  of  the  fin.  In  practice  this 
usually  means  that  all  the  branched  rays  are  counted 
and  one  or  two  of  those  which  are  jointed  but  not 
branched.  In  some  specimens  the  front  of  the  fin  is 
gradually  rounded  so  that  it  is  hard  to  tell  just  where 
to  stop.  In  such  a  case,  even  experts  will  not  always 
count  just  the  same. 

There  are  two  rows  of  scales  which  are  usually 
counted.  The  first  starts  at  the  upper  angle  of  the  gill 
opening,  or  just  above  the  pectoral  fin  in  fishes  where 
the  gill  opening  does  not  extend  so  high,  and  follows  the 
course  of  the  "lateral  line"  to  the  base  of  the  caudal 
fin.  The  other  row  starts  at  the  front  of  the  dorsal  fin 
and  extends  diagonally  backward  to  the  anal  fin.  In 
either  case,  what  is  really  counted  is  the  number  of 
rows  of  scales  which  cross  the  real  or  imaginary  line 
which  is  being  followed.  In  the  pikes  the  lateral  line 
is  not  often  developed  as  a  complete  and  single  line  of 
sense  organs  but  the  count  is  made  where  the  line 
should  be. 

Teeth  and  Food 

Fishes  have  more  tooth-bearing  bones  in  the  mouth 
than  any  other  group  of  animals.  The  upper  jaw  is 
made  up  of  maxillary  and  premaxillary.  In  the  pikes, 
the  premaxillary  bears  a  row  of  small  teeth.  The  max- 
illary is  above  and  behind  the  premaxillary  and  forms 
most  of  the  upper  edge  of  the  mouth  opening.  The 
pikes  have  no  teeth  on  the  maxillary  and  this  is  the 
only  tooth-bearing  bone  in  this  group  which  is  not  so 
armed.  In  the  center  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth  just  be- 
hind the  premaxillaries  is  a  long  patch  of  teeth  on  the 

[167] 


16  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

vomer.  On  each  side  of  the  vomerine  teeth  and  parallel 
with  the  maxillary  bone  is  another  patch  of  teeth  on  the 
palatine  bones.  All  these  teeth  are  hinged  so  that  they 
offer  no  resistance  to  anything  vi^hich  is  moving  in  the 
direction  food  is  intended  to  go.  When  something  in- 
tended for  food  tries  to  return,  the  teeth  stand  up 

against  it. 

On  each  side  of  the  lower  jaw  is  a  row  of  several 
big,  sharp  teeth  set  firmly  in  the  bone.  These  teeth 
are  shed  whenever  they  become  worn  or  broken  and  it 
is  this  set  which  is  supposed  to  be  shed  every  summer 
when  the  Huskies  are  said  to  have  "sore  mouth"  and 
to  be  "off  their  feed."  However  that  may  be,  a  big 
Northern  Muskalonge  in  aquariums  in  Chicago  has 
been  in  the  habit  of  fasting  for  several  weeks  every 
summer. 

There  is  a  patch  of  hinged  teeth  on  the  base  of  the 
tongue  of  the  pickerel  and  another  similar  patch  on 
each  joint  of  the  gill  arches.  Behind  the  gill  arches, 
at  the  entrance  of  the  throat,  is  a  broken  ring  of  bony 
pads  called  "pharyngeal  bones."  Each  of  these  also 
has  a  patch  of  fine,  sharp,  hinged  teeth. 

The  shape  and  position  of  the  teeth  have  a  very 
definite  relation  to  the  kind  of  food  a  fish  eats  and  to 
the  manner  of  eating  it.  Students  of  evolution  may 
(and  do)  discuss  cause  and  effect,  whether  the  kind  of 
food  determines  the  character  of  the  teeth,  whether 
the  kind  of  teeth  determines  the  character  of  the  food 
or  whether  both  are  developed  together  and  each  deter- 
mines the  other. 

A  large  Northern  Muskalonge  has  been  in  aqua- 
riums in  Chicago  for  several  years.  Small  fish  are 
eaten  so  quickly  that  it  is  not  possible  to  watch  the 
process,  but  a  carp  weighing  between  one  and  two 
pounds  is  not  put  out  of  the  way  so  soon.  When  first 
seized,  the  carp  is  held  across  the  mouth  of  the  Musky, 

[168] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  17 

pressed  between  the  toothless  maxillaries  and  the 
strong,  solid  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw.  Then  the  Muska- 
longe returns  to  its  usual  resting  place  before  taking 
the  next  step  in  the  process.  The  fish  is  turned  by  a 
quick  movement  so  that  its  head  points  down  the  throat 
of  the  big  fellow.  Then  it  is  held  between  the  tongue 
and  the  patches  of  teeth  on  vomer  and  palatines.  In 
this  position  there  can  be  very  little  sideways  pressure 
and  the  fixed  teeth  are  not  needed  for  holding.  The 
lower  jaw  is  dropped  so  that  the  big  teeth  are  out  of 
the  way  and  the  prey  is  moved  down  the  throat  by  a 
series  of  quick  gulps  until  it  finally  disappears. 

A  small  Grass  Pickerel  in  the  Lincoln  Park  aqua- 
rium had  a  slightly  different  method.  Perhaps  the 
small  Goldfish  was  larger  in  proportion,  although  the 
relative  sizes  seemed  to  be  about  the  same.  The  Pick- 
erel was  quicker  and  more  positive  in  its  movements. 
The  Muskalonge  was  slower  and  more  deliberate.  The 
Pickerel  seemed  to  try  to  catch  the  fish  in  the  proper 
position  at  the  beginning.  It  did  not  carry  it  away  to 
a  regular  resting  place.  The  motion  in  turning  its  prey 
was  about  the  same  except  that  it  made  two  or  three 
attempts  before  it  got  the  Goldfish  in  just  the  right  posi- 
tion. When  the  position  was  right,  the  first  gulp  took 
the  smaller  fish  almost  out  of  sight.  The  most  notice- 
able difference  was  that  the  big  teeth  of  the  lower  jaw 
were  in  use  as  long  as  there  was  any  part  of  the  Gold- 
fish that  they  could  grasp,  and  were  released  only  at 
the  moment  of  making  another  swallowing  movement. 

Some  large  Pickerel  swallowed  their  prey  in  a 
similar  manner.  They  seemed  to  have  difficulty  in 
turning  their  fish  and  often  lost  them  if  not  secured  in 
just  the  proper  manner  at  the  first  attempt.  One  or 
two  were  swallowed  tail  first.  Others  were  tried  tail 
first  and  later  rejected. 

[169  ] 


18 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


The  Groups  of  Pikes 
In  North  America  there  are  three  groups  of  "true 
pikes,"  belonging  to  the  genus  Esox,  which  makes  up 
the  family  Esocidse,  as  distinguished  from  the  Pike- 


Fig.  2.    Head  of  Grass  Pickerel.    CheekB  and  opercles  fully  scaled. 

Perch  or  Walleyed  Pike,  belonging  to  the  genus  Stizos- 
tedion,  closely  related  to  the  European  and  Asiatic 
Pike-Perch  or  Sander,  belonging  to  the  genus  Lucio- 


Fig.  3.    Head  of  Pickerel.    Cheeks  scaled,  opercles  naked  below. 

perca,  both  of  them  belonging  to  the  family  Percidse, 
which  also  includes  the  common  Perch  of  Europe  and 
Asia,  our  common  Yellow  Perch  and  the  American 

[  170  ] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


19 


darters.  The  three  pike  groups  may  be  conveniently 
separated  by  the  distribution  of  the  scales  on  the  sides 
of  the  head  as  shown  in  the  diagrams. 

The  first  group  includes  two  species,  the  Chain 
Pickerel  (Esox  niger)  and  the  Trout  Pickerel  or  Grass 
Pickerel  (Esox  americanus).  They  are  small  fish, 
mostly  southern  and  eastern,  which  have  the  cheeks 
and  opercles  fully  scaled  (Fig.  2).  None  of  these  fish 
often  reach  a  weight  of  more  than  five  pounds  and  they 
are  generally  very  much  smaller.     Along  the  xA.tlantic 


Fig.  4.    Head  of  Muskalonge.    Cheeks  and  opercles  naked  below. 

coast,  in  Maine  and  New  Brunswick,  they  may  extend 
as  far  as  46°  north  latitude.  They  are  found  from 
there  to  Florida,  west  into  Texas,  up  the  Mississippi 
valley  into  southern  Wisconsin,  in  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  lower  part  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  second  group  includes  only  one  species,  the 
Pickerel,*  Esox  lucius.  This  is  a  larger  fish,  frequently 


*  It  may  be  worth  while  to  note  that  the  author  began  this 
investigation  wdth  the  belief  that  there  was  some  popular  basis 
for  following  the  lead  of  professional  writers  on  angling  subjects 
since  "Frank  Forrester"  and  calling  this  fish  "Pike"  as  is  done  in 
England  and  Canada.  Careful  reading  of  many  sporting  maga- 
zines and  much  discussion  with  sportsmen  has  shown  conclu- 
sively that,  in  the  United  States,  Esox  lucius  is  known  univer- 
sally as  Pickerel  and  the  word  Pike,  where  used  alone  in  ordinary 
conversation,  always  or  almost  always  means  Walleyed  Pike. 

[m] 


20  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

weighing  more  than  ten  pounds,  with  the  cheeks  fully 
scaled  and  the  lower  half  of  the  opercles  naked  (Fig. 
3).  This  fish  is  found  entirely  around  the  world 
north  of  about  40°  north  latitude. 

In  the  third  group  are  found  three  closely  related 
species:  the  Northern  Muskalonge,  St.  Lawrence  Mus- 
kalonge  and  Chautauqua  Muskalonge,  which  have  the 
lower  part  of  the  cheeks  and  opercles  naked  (Fig.  4). 
They  are  still  larger  fish,  a  weight  of  forty-five  pounds 
being  not  uncommon  and  there  seems  to  be  some  reason 
for  believing  that  occasional  specimens  weighing  more 
than  twice  that  amount  have  been  taken.  Members  of 
this  group  are  found  from  northern  Alabama  to  James 
Ba3%  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

Key  to  Species  of  Esox 

A.     Cheeks  and  opercles  fully  scaled. 

B.  Size  small,  seldom  over  one  foot  in  length 
or  a  pound  in  weight.  Scales  large,  usu- 
ally less  than  115  transverse  rows  between 
upper  angle  of  gill  opening  and  base  of 
caudal  rays.  Dorsal  rays  12-17.  Anal 
rays  11-16.    Branchiostegals  10-14. 

americanus  p.  21. 

BB.  Size  larger,  but  seldom  exceeding  two  feet 
in  length  or  three  pounds  in  weight. 
Scales  smaller,  usually  more  than  120 
transverse  rows  between  upper  angle  of 
gill  opening  and  base  of  caudal  rays.  Dor- 
sal rays  13-17,  generally  more  than  14. 
Anal  rays  13-16.  Branchiostegals  12-17, 
generally  more  than  13. 

7iiger  p.  24. 

AA.  Cheeks  fully  scaled,  opercles  naked  below  the 
level  of  lower  edge  of  eye.  Size  large,  fre- 
quently reaching  a  weight  of  ten  pounds  or 
more.  Scales  about  the  same  size  as  in  Esox 
niger,  115-145  transverse  series  between  upper 
angle  of  gill  opening  and  base  of  caudal  rays. 
Dorsal  rays  15-20,  mostly  over  17.   Anal  rays 

[  172  ] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  21 

11-17,  generally  more  than  13.   Branchiostegal 
rays  13-16. 

hiGvas  p.  27. 

AAA.     Cheeks  and  opercles  both  naked  below  the  level 

of  lower  edge  of  eye.     Size  large,  frequently 

reaching  a  weight  of  thirty  pounds  or  more. 

Scales  small,  usually  more  than  150  transverse 

rows  between  upper  angle  of  gill  opening  and 

base  of  caudal  rays.    Dorsal  rays  16-21.    Anal 

rays  14-18.    Branchiostegal  rays  13-16. 

C.      Preorbital  part  of  head  equal  to  or  longer 

than  postorbital.     Body  heavily  marked 

with  dark  cross  bars.     Ohio  River  and 

tributaries. 

ohioensis  p.  29. 

CC.  Preorbital  part  of  head  shorter  than  post- 
orbital. 

D.  Body  heavily  marked  with  round, 
dark  spots.  Lower  Great  Lakes  and 
St.  Lawrence  drainage,  eastern  On- 
tario, western  Quebec,  Vermont  and 
northern  New  York. 

masquinongy  p.  29. 

DD.  Body  marked  with  spots  or  cross 
bars  or  both.  Markings  usually  very 
faint,  stronger  on  the  rear  half  of 
body  and  on  tail.  Upper  Mississippi 
valley  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin, 
Lake  of  the  Woods  and  northward  to 
James  Bay. 

immaculatus  p.  30. 

LITTLE  PICKEREL,  TROUT  PICKEREL, 
GRASS  PICKEREL,  ETC. 

Esox  americanus  Gmelin — Plate  7,  Middle  and  Lower  Figures. 
EASTERN  UNITED  STATES 

Small  fishes,  seldom  over  a  foot  in  length  or 
a  pound  in  weight.  Scales  large,  usually  less  than 
115  transverse  rows  between  upper  angle  of  gill  open- 
ing and  base  of  caudal  rays.     Cheeks  and   opercles 

[173] 


22  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

fully  scaled.  Dorsal  raj^s  12-17,  not  counting  rudi- 
ments. Anal  rays  11-16,  not  counting  rudi- 
ments. Branchiostegal  rays  10-14.  Head  variable, 
rather  shorter  than  in  other  species.  In  all  species  of 
Esox  the  length  of  the  postorbital  part  of  the  head  is 
fairly  constant,  approximately  0.14  of  the  standard 
length.  Variations  in  the  total  length  of  the  head  seem 
to  be  produced  almost  entirely  by  changes  in  the  pro- 
longation of  the  mouth  parts.  These  changes  are  ex- 
treme in  the  present  species.  Specimens  from  the  New 
England  states  (Esox  americanus  americanus)  may 
have  the  postorbital  length  exceed  the  preorbital  by  as 
much  as  the  length  of  the  eye,  while  specimens  from 
Lake  Ontario  (Esox  americanus  umbrosus)  generally 
have  the  preorbital  and  postorbital  lengths  practically 
equal.  The  body  and  especially  the  head  is  usually 
noticeably  deep  and  robust.  The  profile  of  the  head  in 
front  of  the  eyes  is  straight  or  convex,  rarely  slightly 
concave.  The  color  pattern  is  extremely  variable,  be- 
ginning in  the  young  with  dark  blotches  on  the  sides, 
varying  to  cross  bands  or  narrow  streaks,  which  may 
become  irregular  in  width  and  direction  and  finally  pro- 
duce fairly  even  reticulations  or  become  obsolete.  Old 
specimens  in  certain  locations  are  frequently  almost 
solid  very  dark  green  above  with  irregular  dark  spots 
on  the  belly.  These  are  often  called  Black  Pike  and 
supposed  to  belong  to  a  distinct  species. 

Esox  americanus  is  found  from  somewhere  in 
Maine  or  New  Brunswick  southward  into  Florida, 
westward  into  Texas,  up  the  Mississippi  valley  into 
southern  Wisconsin  and  down  the  Great  Lakes  into 
western  New  York.  It  has  been  divided  into  two  spe- 
cies, americanus  and  vermiculatiis,  largely  on  the  sup- 
position that  there  was  a  definite  faunal  boundary  be- 
tween them  somewhere  in  the  southern  states.  Since 
this  has  been  shown  not  to  be  true  and  since  there  are 

[174] 


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Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  23 

no  salient  characters  separating  them  at  any  point,  the 
two  groups  must  be  united.  Specimens  from  the  two 
ends  of  the  range  in  Massachusetts  and  western  New 
York  are  sufficiently  distinct  to  be  readily  separated  by 
average  measurements  but  each  of  these  groups  is 
much  less  distinct  from  others  in  neighboring  localities 
and  these  from  others  until  there  is  found  a  fairly  regu- 
lar gradation  from  one  to  the  other-.  The  whole  group 
can  be  divided,  on  the  basis  of  average  measurements, 
into  a  number  of  subspecies,  varieties  or  local  races  of 
which  might  be  mentioned  Esox  americanus  americanns 
in  the  New  England  States  and  southeastern  New  York, 
Esox  americanus  umbrosus  in  the  Great  Lakes  and  Esox 
americanus  vermiculatus  in  the  Ohio  River  and  its  trib- 
utaries. There  will  be  several  others  in  the  South  At- 
lantic and  Gulf  States. 

The  most  numerous  pickerel  in  North  America  is, 
apparently,  the  least  known.  Where  it  is  seen  it  is 
probably  usually  considered  to  be  the  young  of  one  of 
the  larger  species.  In  its  wide  distribution  from  the 
cold  streams  of  southern  Wisconsin  to  the  swamps  of 
Florida  there  are  naturally  some  slight  differences  in 
structure  which  may  have  some  relation  to  variations 
in  habits. 

All  the  way  from  Maine  to  Florida  these  fish  seem 
to  have  a  great  liking  for  small  streams.  In  the  vicinity 
of  Washington,  D.  C.,  they  are  found  far  up  some  small 
brooks.  On  Long  Island  they  live  in  the  trout  brooks. 
Along  our  western  streams  and  lakes  they  are  found 
mostly  in  muddy  sloughs  in  the  marshes.  Sometimes 
they  may  be  seen  in  small  streams  but  not  often  above 
the  first  bit  of  swift  water. 

Within  recent  years  a  number  of  anglers  have  re- 
ported that  the  Trout  Pickerel  is  good  game  for  the  fly 
fisherman.  Mr.  Louis  Rhead  tells  of  catching  them  in 
the  trout  brooks  of  Long  Island  and  says  that  they  seem 

[175] 


24  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

just  as  game  as  the  Brook  Trout  of  the  same  waters. 
Other  writers  are  not  quite  so  favorable.  A  few  say 
that  it  might  be  a  good  game  fish  if  larger.  One  or 
two  call  it  "delicious."  The  majority,  however,  agree 
with  the  writer  who  says  that  this  fish,  on  Long  Island, 
often  causes  trout  fly  fishermen  much  trouble  by  taking 
the  fly  intended  for  "nobler"  fish.  Two  specimens,  re- 
ceived at  Field  Museum,  were  caught  by  Mr.  Rhead.  In 
the  letter  accompanying  them,  Mr.  George  P.  Engel- 
hardt,  of  the  Brooklyn  Museum  quoted  Mr.  Rhead  as 
saying :  "These  fish  readily  rise  to  a  fly  and  are  equally 
as  game  as  a  Brook  Trout."  Again  he  says:  "Mr. 
Rhead  told  me  that  both  were  caught  on  a  fly  while  fish- 
ing for  trout  and  that  the  larger  of  the  two  specimens 
jumped  at  least  a  foot  out  of  the  water  in  taking  the 
fly."  In  a  letter  to  the  author,  Mr.  Rhead  says :  "It  is 
a  gamey  little  fish,  rises  to  the  fly,  sometimes  leaps 
above  the  surface,  quite  as  active  as  a  trout." 

It  is  not  at  all  likely  that  this  fish  anywhere  reaches 
a  length  greater  than  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  or  a 
weight  which  will  go  much  above  a  pound.  The  state- 
ment in  Goode's  "American  Fishes"  (page  282)  that 
the  "Western  Pickerel"  has  been  known  to  attain  the 
weight  of  twenty  pounds  but  at  the  present  day  never 
exceeds  seven  or  eight  must,  almost  certainly,  refer  to 
the  Ohio  Muskalonge.  Specimens  nearly  fifteen  inches 
in  length  have  been  taken  in  the  Illinois  River  and 
neighboring  bayous  at  Meredosia,  Illinois,  within  the 
past  few  years. 

CHAIN  PICKEREL,  EASTERN  PICKEREL,  ETC. 

£"§00;  niger  Le  Sueur — Plate  5. 
EASTERN  UNITED  STATES 

Larger  than  Esox  americanus,  but  seldom  exceed- 
ing 5  pounds  in  weight.  Scales  smaller  than  in  ameri- 
canus, usually  more  than  120  transverse  rows  between 

[176] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  25 

upper  angle  of  gill  opening  and  base  of  caudal  rays. 
Cheeks  and  opercles  fully  scaled.  Dorsal  rays  13-17, 
generally  more  than  14,  not  counting  rudiments.  Anal 
rays  13-16,  not  counting  rudiments.  Branchiostegal 
rays  12-17,  generally  more  than  13.  Head  long,  the 
extension  of  the  preorbital  part  especially  pronounced. 
In  many  specimens,  especially  northern,  the  preorbital 
part  of  head  may  exceed  the  postorbital  by  as  much  as 
the  length  of  the  eye.  Southern  specimens  often  have 
the  preorbital  part  of  head  shorter.  Young  individuals 
may  become  almost  indistinguishable  from  Esox  ameri- 
canus.  In  a  few  extreme  cases  it  is  difficult  to  separate 
very  old  specimens  of  americanus  from  small  adults  of 
the  present  species.  The  body  and  head  are  notably 
long  and  slender.  The  appearance  of  slenderness  is  in- 
creased by  the  concave  profile  of  the  top  of  head,  in 
front  of  the  eyes.  The  color  pattern  of  the  young  is 
very  similar  to  that  of  ameHcanus  but  the  markings 
are  usually  somewhat  coarser.  At  a  length  somewhat 
less  than  a  foot  the  markings  change  to  a  more  or  less 
regularly  reticulate  pattern  on  a  lighter  background. 
Southern  specimens  often  become  solid  dark  green  in 
color  above  \\'ith  irregular  dark  spots  on  the  belly  and 
are  called  Black  Pike.  Short-headed  specimens  in  the 
dark  phase  or  with  rather  fine  reticulations  are  often 
very  difficult  to  separate  from  similarly  marked  speci- 
mens of  americanus. 

Esox  niger  is  found  from  somewhere  in  Maine  or 
New  Brunswick  southward  into  Florida,  westward  to 
Texas  and  up  the  Mississippi  to  northern  Arkansas  or 
southern  Missouri.  It  has  not  yet  been  recorded  from 
any  of  the  Great  Lakes  although  it  is  in  several  of  the 
streams  flowing  into  Lake  Ontario  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence River.  Apparently  it  found  its  way  into  these 
streams  through  the  extensive  system  of  canals  which 
was  in  use  in  New  York  state  before  the  beginning  of 

[177] 


26  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

railroad  operation.     From  eastern  Massachusetts  to 
South  Carolina  this  is  an  important  game  fish. 

This  fish  is  the  largest  species  which  has  the  cheeks 
and  opercles  fully  scaled.  In  number  of  scales  and  of 
dorsal  and  anal  rays  it  is  very  much  like  the  Pickerel. 
The  main  points  of  difference  in  general  appearance  are 
that  the  jaws  are  decidedly  longer,  the  body  more 
slender  and  the  color  yellowish  or  brassy.  The  color 
pattern  is  similar  except  that  the  light  spots  are  pro- 
portionately larger  so  that  the  impression  is  of  a  golden 
or  brassy  colored  fish  with  dark  lines  forming  a  net- 
work over  the  body.  In  the  Pickerel  the  impression  is 
of  a  greenish,  gray  or  silvery  fish  with  golden,  light 
green  or  pearly  spots.  The  color  change  from  youth  to 
the  adult  condition  occurs  at  a  smaller  size  than  in  the 
Pickerel.  Young  specimens  and  those  just  starting  to 
change  may  be  very  difficult  to  distinguish  from  Trout 
Pickerel  of  the  same  size.  In  that  case  the  great  length 
of  the  jaws  and  the  slenderness  of  this  species  are  the 
best  characters  to  use. 

As  with  all  the  rest,  there  is  great  difference  of 
opinion  with  regard  to  its  quality  as  food  or  game. 
Various  writers  in  the  "American  Angler"  between 
1880  and  1890  claimed  that  the  "Yellow  Pickerel"  of 
Oneida  Lake,  New  York,  was  the  best  fish  to  eat  and 
one  of  the  best  game  fish  they  had  ever  seen.  Other 
writers  have  been  just  as  positive  that  the  flesh  of  this 
fish  is  watery  and  tasteless.  About  thirty-five  years 
ago,  the  Chain  Pickerel  seems  to  have  been  about  as 
highly  esteemed  as  the  Black  Bass  in  Greenwood  Lake, 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  In  a  recent  letter 
Mr.  Louis  Rhead  says :  "The  Chain  Pickerel  of  Long 
Island,  which  I  catch  up  to  24  inches,  is  a  beautifully 
colored  fish — also  leaps  above  the  surface.  I  never  be- 
fore got  them  anywhere  on  the  northern  continent 
either  so  gamey  or  highly  colored  in  green  and  yellow." 

[  178] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  27 

Such  a  great  difference  must  be  other  than  accidental 
and  is  probably  due  to  differences  in  the  water  or  the 
food  or  both. 

PICKEREL,  PIKE,  JACK,  ETC. 

Esox  lucius  Linnaeus — Plate  4;  Plate  7,  Upper  Figure. 
NORTHERN  LAKES  AND  RIVERS 

Large  fishes,  often  exceeding  a  weight  of  ten 
pounds.  Scales  about  the  same  size  as  in  niger,  115-145 
transverse  series  between  upper  angle  of  gill  opening 
and  base  of  caudal  rays.  Cheeks  fully  scaled.  Opercles 
naked  below  the  level  of  lower  margin  of  eye.  Dorsal 
rays  15-20,  not  counting  rudiments,  mostly  over  17. 
Anal  rays  11-17,  generally  more  than  13.  Branchi- 
ostegal  rays  13-16.  Head  variable,  American  speci- 
mens (Esox  lucius  estor)  having  the  preorbital  part 
of  head  longer  than  the  postorbital.  The  two  are  equal 
in  European  specimens  (Esox  lucius  lucius) .  Changes 
in  the  body  contour  are  very  great  in  this  species. 
Young  specimens  are  very  slender  and  are  frequently 
called  "Snakes"  in  Wisconsin  and  northern  Michigan. 
Large,  old  specimens,  which  have  been  able  to  get 
plenty  of  food,  often  become  very  deep-bodied.  The 
profile  of  the  head  in  front  of  the  eyes  is  usually 
straight  but  may  be  slightly  concave  or  convex.  In  gen- 
eral, among  the  species  of  this  family,  there  seems  to 
be  a  tendency  for  the  profile  to  be  convex  when  the 
snout  is  short  and  concave  when  it  is  elongated.  The 
color  pattern  is  very  uniform  in  this  species.  Young 
specimens  have  a  pattern  very  much  like  that  of  young 
americanus  of  similar  size,  but  slightly  coarser.  Older 
ones  develop  a  pattern  much  like  that  of  ohioensis  or 
less  spotted  individuals  of  immaculatus.  Still  later  the 
light  cross  bands  become  irregular  along  their  edges 
and  finally  change  into  diagonal  rows  of  horizontally 
elongated  light  spots  on  a  darker  background.     The 

[179] 


28  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

shape  of  the  spots  makes  them  appear  to  be  arranged 
in  horizontal  rows  but  a  little  careful  measurement 
shows  that  this  is  an  illusion.  The  spots  are  really  the 
remnants  of  the  cross  bands  of  the  color  pattern  of  the 
young  and  are  arranged  in  rows  having  the  same 
slightly  diagonal  direction.  The  change  in  color  pat- 
tern usually  occurs  when  the  fish  is  less  than  fifteen 
inches  long  but  may  be  delayed  until  much  later.  There 
is  some  reason  for  believing  that  it  is  within  the  power 
of  the  fish  to  change  back  from  the  spotted  to  the  barred 
coloration  at  will,  especially  while  young. 

Esox  lucius  is  found  entirely  around  the  world, 
north  of  about  40°  north  latitude.  The  only  extensive 
areas  where  it  seems  to  be  not  known,  in  that  region 
are  Greenland,  Iceland,  Spain  and  Portugal.  In  North 
America  it  is  found  in  streams  flowing  into  Bering  Sea, 
the  Arctic  Ocean,  Hudson  Bay,  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  has  been  planted  in  streams 
flowing  into  the  Pacific.  Throughout  this  wide  range 
it  is  well  known  as  a  food  and  game  fish  and  has  re- 
ceived a  host  of  names  and  nicknames. 

Writers  on  fishing  subjects  have  been  telling  about 
the  Pickerel  for  hundreds  of  years  and  it  would  seem 
that  there  is  little  either  of  fact  or  fable  to  tell.  The 
older  writers,  especially,  were  full  of  tales  of  the  ter- 
rible ferocity  of  this  fish.  Modern  writers  seem  to  be 
more  concerned  with  the  question  of  the  proper  name 
by  which  to  call  it  or  else  with  the  question  of  its  pos- 
session or  lack  of  game  qualities.  Opinion  seems  to 
be  about  equally  divided  between  calling  it  one  of  the 
best  or  one  of  the  worst  game  fishes.  Heavier  tackle  is 
generally  used  for  Pickerel  than  for  the  basses.  This 
has  much  to  do  with  an  apparent  lack  of  game  quali- 
ties. Then,  too,  the  Pickerel  is  very  slender  and  lacks 
the  great  resisting  surface  of  the  bass.  Its  fight  must 
be  made  by  sheer  muscular  force. 

[180] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  29 

CHAUTAUQUA  MUSKALONGE,  OHIO 

MUSKALONGE,  ETC. 

Esox  ohioensis  Kirtland — Plate  2. 

OHIO  RIVER  AND  TRIBUTARIES 

Size  large,  weight  frequently  exceeding  thirty- 
pounds.  Scales  small,  usually  more  than  150  trans- 
verse rows  between  upper  angle  of  gill  opening  and 
base  of  caudal  rays.  Cheeks  and  opercles  both  naked 
below  the  level  of  lower  margin  of  eye.  Dorsal  rays 
16-21,  not  counting  rudiments.  Anal  rays  14  to  18,  not 
counting  rudiments.  Branchiostegal  rays  13-16.  Head 
moderate,  the  preorbital  part  equal  to  or  longer  than 
postorbital.  Body  slender  in  the  young,  becoming  deep 
and  robust  with  age.  The  color  pattern  at  all  ages  is 
practically  the  same  as  that  of  Esox  americanus  except 
that  there  seems  to  be  much  less  tendency  for  the  cross 
bands  to  lose  their  straight  course  and  become  vermicu- 
late  or  reticulate.  In  very  old  specimens  there  is  some 
tendency  for  the  dark  cross  bars  to  break  up  into  ver- 
tical rows  of  dark  spots  as  the  similar  light  bars  of 
lucius  break  up  into  light  spots.  In  lucius  this  change 
seems  to  start  on  the  flanks,  between  the  pectoral  and 
ventral  fins.  In  all  three  species  of  Muskalonge  the 
similar  change  starts  on  the  tail. 

Esox  ohioensis  is  found  in  the  Ohio  River  and  its 
tributaries,  from  western  New  York  to  northern  Ala- 
bama and  western  North  Carolina.  In  the  southern 
streams  where  this  fish  is  called  "Pike,"  the  Walleye 
(Stizostedion)  is  generally  called  "Salmon." 

ST.   LAWRENCE   MUSKALONGE,   SPOTTED 
MUSKALONGE,  ETC. 

Esox  masquinongy  Mitchill — Plate  3. 
GREAT  LAKES  AND  ST.  LAWRENCE 

Size  large,  weight  often  more  than  forty  pounds. 
Scales  small,  usually  more  than  150  between  upper 

[181] 


30  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

angle  of  gill  opening  and  base  of  caudal  rays.  Cheeks 
and  opercles  naked  below  level  of  lower  margin  of  eye. 
Dorsal  rays  16-21,  not  counting  rudiments.  Anal  rays 
14-18,  not  counting  rudiments.  Branchiostegal  rays 
13-16.  Head  moderate,  preorbital  paii;  shorter  than 
postorbital.  Body  deep,  especially  in  old  individuals. 
Young  specimens  of  this  species  are  not  available  for 
study  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  they  are 
different  in  color  pattern  from  other  species  of  the 
group.  In  adults,  the  dark  bars  have  been  reduced  to 
rows  of  round  or  vertically  elongate  dark  spots  on  a 
lighter  background. 

Esox  Tnasquinongy  is  found  in  the  lower  Great 
Lakes,  in  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  in  the  rivers  of  north- 
ern New  York  and  VeiTnont  flowing  into  Lake  Ontario 
or  the  St.  Lawrence  north  and  east  of  Oswego  and  in 
the  rivers  and  lakes  of  southeastern  Ontario  and  south- 
western Quebec. 

NORTHERN  MUSKALONGE,  UNSPOTTED  MUS- 
KALONGE,  WISCONSIN  MUSKALONGE, 

ETC. 
Esox  immaculatus  Garrard — Plate  1. 
UPPER  MISSISSIPPI  AND  NORTHWARD 

Size  large,  weight  often  more  than  forty  pounds. 
Scales  small,  generally  more  than  150  transverse  rows 
between  upper  angle  of  gill  opening  and  base  of  caudal 
rays.  Cheeks  and  opercles  naked  below  level  of  lower 
margin  of  eye.  Dorsal  rays  16-21,  not  counting  rudi- 
ments. Anal  rays  14-18,  not  counting  rudiments. 
Branchiostegal  rays  13-16.  Head  moderate,  preorbital 
part  shorter  than  postorbital.  Body  deep  and  robust 
in  the  adult,  slender  in  the  young.  The  color  pattern  is 
variable,  sometimes  consisting  of  cross  bars  like  Esox 
ohioensis,  sometimes  of  spots  like  masquinongy  and 
sometimes  of  both  spots  and  cross  bars.    Where  spots 

[182] 


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Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  31 

and  bars  are  present  they  seem  to  have  no  relation  to 
each  other.  A  large  fish  market  specimen  showed 
spots  when  viewed  from  certain  angles  and  bars  from 
other  angles.  The  spots  might  be  in,  between  or  on  the 
edge  of  the  bars.  Occasional  specimens,  locally  called 
"Tiger  Muskalonge,"  may  have  the  spots  or  bars  very 
distinct  but  generally  the" markings  are  very  indistinct 
except  on  the  tail; -Where  they  can  be  easily  seen.  Over 
most  of  the  body  they  can  only  be  seen  on  careful  exam- 
ination in  a  good  light  and  when  viewed  at  a  certain 
angle. 

Esox  immactilatus  is  found  in  the  headwaters  of 
the  Mississippi  above  the  junction  of  the  Minnesota 
and  in  streams  entering  on  the  east  side  above  the  Illi- 
nois-Wisconsin line.  Northward  it  occurs  across  the 
divide  in  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Rainy  Lake.  If  the 
accounts  of  sportsmen  are  accurate,  this  species  is 
found  in  suitable  waters  clear  to  James  Bay. 

Of  all  our  freshwater  game  fish,  the  Muskalonge 
seems  to  be  most  difficult  to  recognize,  apparently  not 
because  of  any  lack  of  distinguishing  marks,  but  be- 
cause the  diff"erences  are  of  a  kind  that  the  fisherman 
usually  overlooks.  The  two  Black  Basses  really  look 
more  alike  than  the  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge,  yet  the 
latter  pair  are  much  more  often  confused.  Guides  and 
resort  hotel  keepers  have  not  always  helped  by  their 
identifications  of  large  fish.  The  actual  capture  of  a 
fifteen  pound  Pickerel  may  have  been  just  as  difficult 
as  the  taking  of  a  Muskalonge  of  the  same  w^eight  but 
many  fishermen  would  feel  very  differently  if  told  the 
truth.  In  other  words,  the  Muskalonge  is  fashionable 
and  the  Pickerel  is  not,  even  though  it  may  fight  just 
as  hard. 

There  are  three  groups  of  Muskalonge,  which,  for 
convenience,  we  may  consider  three  species.  To  under- 
stand their   relationships   and   distribution   we   must 

[183] 


32  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

know  a  little  about  the  past  history  of  North  America. 
There  is  very  good  evidence  for  believing  that  at  sev- 
eral times  in  very  recent  geologic  history  the  northern 
part  of  this  continent,  extending  sometimes  as  far  south 
as  the  Ohio  River,  was  covered  with  a  vast  sheet  of  ice, 
a  glacier,  like  those  which  now  cover  Greenland  and  the 
Antarctic  continent.  Just  south  of  Lake  Superior,  in 
what  is  now  the  state  of  Wisconsin,  was  a  curious 
island  in  the  sea  of  ice.  This  island,  called  by  geolo- 
gists the  "driftless  area,"  included  parts  of  the  present 
courses  of  the  Mississippi  and  Wisconsin  Rivers,  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Minnesota  River. 

It  is  evident  that  no  fish  could  exist  where  the  ice 
sheet  covered  everything,  pushing  the  earth  away  from 
the  bare  rocks.  All  the  fish  that  formerly  lived  there 
must  have  been  destroyed  or  driven  south.  We  believe 
that  there  were  Muskalonge  living  in  part  or  all  of  the 
region  now  included  in  the  Great  Lakes  Basin  and  the 
upper  Mississippi  Valley.  Some  of  them,  no  doubt, 
stayed  in  the  "driftless  area."  The  others  must  have 
been  forced  farther  and  farther  south  until  they  reached 
the  Ohio  and  the  lower  Mississippi.  There  they  sur- 
vived until  some  change  produced  a  warmer  climate 
and  the  ice  began  to  "retreat."  Retreat  is  not  a  good 
word  for  the  process ;  there  was  no  sliding  back  of  the 
ice  on  its  rocky  foundation.  It  continued  to  advance 
during  the  whole  retreat.  The  only  difference  was  that 
the  heat  of  each  summer  or  the  average  of  all  the  sum- 
mers melted  more  of  the  ice  than  the  glacier  pushed  for- 
ward during  the  whole  year.  Thus  the  ice  front  re- 
treated although  the  ice  itself  was  pushing  forward  all 
the  time. 

As  the  warm  weather  pushed  back  the  front  of 
the  glacier  it  finally  passed  over  the  divide  into  a  region 
which  slopes  to  the  north.  Still  the  ice  was  so  thick 
that  the  water  could  not  escape  in  that  direction  and 

[184] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  33 

was  backed  up  until  it  could  flow  over  the  divide  and 
into  some  stream  flo^^ing  southward.  Such  an  over- 
flow channel  formerly  existed  where  the  south  end  of 
Chicago  is  now,  the  water  going  into  the  Illinois  River. 
Many  others  are  known  but  the  one  most  interesting 
to  us  just  now  is  the  one  where  the  water  from  the 
valley  of  the  Red  River  of  the  North  flowed  over  into 
the  Minnesota  River.  The  lake  was  many  times  larger 
than  Lake  Superior.  It  extended  to  the  southeast  to 
include  Lake  Winnipeg,  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Rainy 
Lake.  To  the  westward  it  included  the  lake  region  of 
central  Saskatchewan.  Thus  there  was  an  open  water 
route  for  the  Muskalonge  of  the  "driftless  area"  to  fol- 
low the  glacier  to  the  north.  Also,  the  water  from  the 
glacier  passed  through  a  great  settling  basin  so  that 
there  is  little  doubt  that  the  Minnesota  was  at  that  time 
a  clear  cold  stream.  At  present  we  find  the  Northeni 
Muskalonge  (Plate  1)  living  in  streams  flowing  through 
the  driftless  area  and  in  clear  waters  flowing  away 
from  the  site  of  this  former  lake.  It  is  not  found  in 
the  Minnesota  probably  because  that  river  is  now  a 
muddy  prairie  stream. 

While  the  ancestors  of  the  Northern  jNIuskalonge 
were  shut  in  the  "driftless  area"  another  part  of  the 
original  group  was  forced  southward  ahead  of  the  ice 
until  they  finally  entered  the  Ohio  River  and  its  tribu- 
taries from  the  south.  Some  of  the  more  important  of 
these  are  the  Kentucky,  Green,  Cumberland  and  Ten- 
nessee Rivers.  As  the  ice  melted  back  these  fish  found 
themselves  in  pleasant  surroundings  and  stayed.  They 
had  to  adapt  themselves  to  changes  of  temperature  and 
other  conditions  as  the  country  was  transformed  from 
something  which  must  have  appeared  much  as  northern 
Labrador  does  today.  The  Chautauqua  Muskalonge  or 
Ohio  Muskalonge  (Plate  2)  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the 
Ohio  River  basin,  from  the  headwaters  of  the  Tennes- 

[185] 


34  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

see  in  the  French  Broad  River  at  Asheville,  North  Caro- 
lina, and  from  northern  Alabama  on  the  south  to  Chau- 
tauqua Lake  at  the  head  of  the  Ohio  on  the  north. 

The  third  group,  the  St.  Lawrence  Muskalohge 
(Plate  3) ,  is  found  now  in  northern  New  York,  in  east- 
em  Canada  and  in  the  Great  Lakes  drainage  from  Lake 
Huron  down.  They  are  evidently  descended  from  an- 
cestors of  one  or  both  of  the  other  groups  for  their 
country  was  covered  by  a  heavy  sheet  of  ice  for  a  long 
time.  As  the  ice  melted  back  there  were  constant 
changes  in  the  position  of  the  streams  that  carried 
away  the  water;  lakes  were  formed  and  abandoned; 
lake  outlets  were  first  into  one  stream  and  then  into 
another.  It  was  easy  for  fish  to  follow  the  glacier  back 
and  to  cross  the  divides  from  one  stream  system  to 
another  until  they  reached  the  country  where  we  find 
them  now.  It  is  probable  that  the  fishes  of  Lake  Erie 
and  eastward  are  descended  from  those  that  lived  in 
the  old  Ohio  River.  Those  of  Georgian  Bay  and  parts 
of  southeastern  Ontario  may  have  descended  from 
either,  or  both. 

It  may  seem  that  the  limits  of  the  range  of  the 
various  species  of  Muskalonge  are  rather  indefinite. 
The  Chautauqua  Muskalonge  and  the  Northern  Muska- 
longe are  in  different  parts  of  the  Mississippi  basin. 
The  Northern  Muskalonge  and  the  St.  Lawrence  Mus- 
kalonge are  found  in  different  parts  of  the  Great  Lakes 
basin.  There  is  deep  water  which  could  permit  free 
movement  from  one  to  the  other.  However,  it  does  not 
seem  that  the  fish  do  move  so.  No  Muskalonge  likes 
muddy  water.  Below  the  northern  boundary  of  Illinois 
the  Mississippi  is  so  cloudy  with  the  silt  of  the  prairie 
rivers  that  it  seems  to  form  an  effective  barrier.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Muskalonge  do  not  seem  to  like 
large   lakes.     They  prefer   small,  shallow,   sheltered 

[186] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  35 

bays,  where  they  can  lurk  under  the  shelter  of  water 
plants  and  not  be  disturbed  by  the  pounding  of  heavy 
waves. 

WALLEYED  PIKE,  SAUGER,  YELLOW  PIKE, 
BLUE  PIKE,  DORY,  DOREE,  ETC. 

Stizostedion  vitreum  Mitchill,  Stizostedion  canadense  Smith,  etc. 

Plate  8. 

EASTERN  NORTH  AMERICA 

Spiny-rayed  fishes  with  two  dorsal  fins,  the  first 
with  12  to  15  spines,  the  second  with  1  spine  and  17  to 
21  soft  rays.  Anal  fin  wdth  2  spines  and  11  to  14  soft 
rays.  Ventral  fins  thoracic  (close  to  the  pectorals), 
with  1  spine  and  5  soft  rays.  Scales  ctenoid  (having 
small  sharp  spines  along  their  edges).  Color  variable, 
yellowish,  bluish  or  grayish,  -with  or  without  dark  spots 
or  blotches  or  finer  markings,  sometimes  decidedly 
pinkish  in  the  saugers.  The  body  is  slender  and  the 
mouth  large  as  in  the  pikes  but  in  essential  structures 
this  fish  is  very  close  to  the  Yellow  Perch. 

One  or  more  species  of  this  group  are  found  in 
all  suitable  waters  from  northern  Louisiana  and  Texas 
northward  to  the  lakes  of  the  Barren  Lands,  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  are  exceedingly  numerous 
in  many  of  the  larger  lakes  of  Canada. 

The  differences  between  the  Walleyed  Pike  and 
the  saugers  are  very  small,  consisting  of  a  little  differ- 
ence in  shape  of  body,  some  differences  in  the  extent 
of  scaling  on  the  head  and  a  difference  in  the  number 
and  arrangement  of  the  caeca  or  blind  sacs  attached  to 
the  stomach.  Of  these  the  Walleye  has  three,  all  about 
the  same  length  and  about  as  long  as  the  stomach.  The 
saugers  have  from  3  to  7  or  more,  usually  of  different 
lengths  and  none  as  long  as  the  stomach.  This  is 
the  only  certain  way  of  separating  the  species.  The 
head  of  the  sauger  is  usually  broad  and  flat.    That  of 

[lb7] 


36  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

the  Walleye  is  usually  narrow  and  high.  The  sauger 
often  has  a  pattern  of  dark  saddle-shaped  blotches  on 
a  pinkish  background.  The  Walleye  usually  has  a  pat- 
tern of  very  fine  dark  markings  on  a  background  of 
yellow,  blue  or  gray.  That  these  differences  are  not 
constant  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  a  fish  has  been 
seen  to  change  from  one  color  to  the  other  in  a  fraction 
of  a  second. 

These  fish  are  related  to  the  pikes  only  in  name. 
They  are  true  perches,  with  sharp  spines  in  the  fins 
and  with  rough,  "ctenoid"  scales.  There  are  three 
groups  of  perches  as  there  are  three  groups  of  pikes. 
The  Yellow  Perch,  in  three  or  four  closely  related  spe- 
cies, is  found  all  around  the  world  in  northern  latitudes. 
The  Pike  Perches,  in  several  species,  are  also  found  all 
around  the  world  in  northern  latitudes.  There  are  three 
or  four  species  in  North  America,  so  closely  related 
that  fishermen  who  recognize  the  differences  often 
make  mistakes.  The  third  group  is  that  of  the  darters 
of  our  streams.  This  group  of  little  fishes  (only  one 
out  of  a  hundred  or  more  species  reaches  a  length  of 
six  inches)  is  found  only  in  the  streams  and  ponds  of 
North  America. 

The  Walleyed  Pike  (Plate  8)  is  like  the  Pickerel 
in  having  a  similar  shape,  in  eating  mainly  living  food 
of  large  size  and  in  living  in  similar  places.  In  name, 
however,  the  two  are  so  completely  tangled  that  it  is 
almost  a  hopeless  task  to  try  to  separate  them.  When 
a  Chicago  angler  says  he  caught  a  six-pound  Pike,  it 
often  requires  considerable  discussion  to  find  out 
whether  he  caught  Stizostedion  or  Esox  lucitts.  North 
of  the  Great  Lakes  the  name  "Pickerel"  almost  invari- 
ably means  Stizostedion.  On  this  side  it  is  almost  as 
invariably  applied  to  Esox  lucius.  Some  years  ago  the 
"American  Angler"  devoted  many  pages  to  a  discus- 
sion of  that  point. 

[  188] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  37 

There  are  three  or  four  species  of  Stizostedion  in 
Noi-th  America,  the  Walleyed  Pike  and  two  or  three 
species  of  Saugers.  The  Walleye  grows  to  a  weight  of 
more  than  fifteen  pounds  while  the  Saugers  seldom 
pass  two  or  three  pounds.  They  are  very  similar  in 
habits  and  habitat  as  well  as  in  general  appearance. 
Alive  in  the  aquarium,  they  are  usually  fairly  easy  to 
separate  but  in  the  fish  market  or  in  the  alcohol  jar  of 
the  museum  it  frequently  requires  dissection  and  an 
examination  of  the  internal  organs  to  decide  which 
species  is  represented  by  any  particular  specimen. 

In  the  aquarium  the  Sanger  is  more  often  seen 
resting  on  the  bottom  while  Walleyes  of  the  same  size 
will  be  found  more  often  in  mid-water.  There  is  usu- 
ally also  a  difference  in  color  and  color  pattern.  The 
Walleyes  will  have  a  bluish  color  produced  by  a  fine- 
grained mottling  of  light  and  dark.  These  small  fish 
are  often  called  Blue  Pike  and  are  sometimes  thought 
to  be  a  distinct  species.  In  the  same  lighting  the  Sau- 
gers will  have  a  pinkish  color  with  a  rather  regular 
arrangement  of  saddle-like  dark  blotches  on  the  back. 
This  is  not  an  absolute  character,  however.  A  speci- 
men has  been  watched  in  the  aquarium,  swimming 
slowly  in  a  vertical  circle,  with  a  short  rest  on  the  bot- 
tom of  the  tank  after  each  circuit.  While  resting  on 
the  bottom  or  swimming  close  to  it,  it  had  typical 
Sauger  color.  When  it  turned  to  swim  upward  it 
changed  to  the  Walleye  color,  which  it  retained  until 
it  came  back  to  within  four  or  five  inches  of  the  bottom, 
when  it  changed  back  to  the  Sauger  color.  This  regular 
succession  of  color  changes.  Walleye,  when  more  than 
about  five  inches  from  the  bottom  and  Sauger  the  rest 
of  the  time,  was  kept  up  for  a  half  hour  or  more. 

The  Walleyed  Pike  is  found  in  North  America  in 
practically  all  the  suitable  waters  in  the  Mississippi 
basin,  the  Great  Lakes  and  northward.     Its  northern 

[189] 


38  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

limit  is  not  yet  knovvii.  It  is  an  important  commercial 
fish  in  Lesser  Slave  Lake,  Lake  Winnipeg,  Lake  of  the 
Woods  and  the  Great  Lakes.  It  is  generally  esteemed 
as  a  game  fish  in  the  waters  where  it  can  be  caught  by 
game  fishing  methods.  There  are  many  places  where  it 
is  present  in  large  numbers  but  can  hardly  be  induced 
to  take  a  baited  hook.  As  a  food  fish  it  is  one  of  the 
best. 

Common  Names 

In  Chicago,  a  fisheraian  speaking  of  "Pike"  usu- 
ally means  Walleyed  Pike,  Stizostedion,  (page  35).  If 
he  says  "Pickerel"  he  generally  means  Esox  lucius 
(page  27),  but  may  mean  Stizostedion,  Esox  niger 
(page  24)  or  Esox  americanus  (page  21).  If  such 
a  fisherman  should  tell  of  catching  "Pickerel"  and 
"Pike"  he  would  probably  refer  to  Esox  lucius  and  Sti- 
zostedion, while  his  friend  from  some  city  in  Canada, 
a  short  distance  east  of  Detroit  would  use  the  same 
terms  to  mean  Stizostedion  and  Esox  lucius.  If  the 
same  Chicago  fisheraian  should  use  the  term  "Great 
Northern  Pike"  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  tell 
whether  he  meant  Esox  lucius  or  Esox  immaculatus 
(page  30).  This  is  probably  the  worst  mixup  on  rec- 
ord. Apparently  about  half  the  fishing  population  of 
northwestern  Wisconsin  and  northeastern  Minnesota 
use  the  name  "Great  Northern  Pike"  for  large  speci- 
mens of  Esox  lucius,  especially  those  showing  some  red 
color  in  the  fins,  while  the  others  give  the  name  to  a 
Muskalonge,  Esox  immacidatus. 

The  confusion  of  names  has  become  so  serious  that 
fish  dealers  in  Chicago  have  practically  abandoned  the 
names  "Pike"  and  "Pickerel."  For  Esox  lucius  they 
use  the  name  "Jack."  Stizostedion,  according  to  size, 
are  "Yellows"  or  "Blues."  Large  specimens  of  Wall- 
eyed Pike  generally  have  more  or  less  of  a  brassy  color 

[190] 


I- 
< 


1- 

UJ 


< 

UJ 


UJ 
E 
111 

O 

o. 


10 

> 

X 


Of  IH6 
UNIVERSirr  QF  iiu^^ii 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  39 

and  are  known  by  the  trade  name  "Yellow  Pike," 
Smaller  ones  are  bluish  in  general  tone  and  are  called 
"Blue  Pike."  .. , ,. 

Another  source  of  much  discussion  has  been  the 
name  "Muskalonge."  There  are  at  least  forty  legiti- 
mate spellings  divided  into  two  general  groups,  those 
which  derive  it  from  Indian  words  which  have  been 
spelled  "Mas-kinonge"  or  "Mas-kenoza,"  and  those 
which  derive  it  from  French  words  "masque-al- 
longe." Feeling  free  to  choose  any  of  these  spellings 
we  have  selected  "Muskalonge"  because  it  comes  the 
closest  to  the  way  it  is  generally  pronounced,  because 
it  is  one  of  the  commonly  accepted  forms,  and  because 
it  has  relatively  simple  spelling. 

There  are  two  ways  to  consider  common  names  of 
any  objects  with  which  people  are  familiar.  One  is  to 
hold  absolutely  to  the  name  first  given.  That  is  the 
way  of  scientific  nomenclature.  Some  confusion  has 
arisen  because  we  do  not  always  know  which  was  the 
name  first  applied  but  such  difficulties  are  being  re- 
moved as  fast  as  possible  and  will  finally  be  taken  care 
of  by  the  establishment  of  a  list  of  accepted  scientific 
names.  The  other  way  is  to  hold  that  the  name  of  an 
object  is  what  folks  call  it.  Many  writers  of  books  on 
this  group  have  refused  to  accept  this  view  and  have 
tried  to  secure  the  use  of  unfamiliar  or,  even,  newly 
made  names.  This  has  rather  added  to  the  confusion. 
Under  either  interpretation,  the  name  "Pickerel"  with- 
out any  qualifying  word  is  not  available  for  the  strictly 
American  species  with  the  cheeks  and  opercles  (see  p. 
13)  entirely  scaled,  because  this  name  is  not  commonly 
so  used  in  America  and  because  it  was  first  applied  to 
Esox  lucius  before  anyone  in  Europe  knew  that  there 
was  such  a  place  as  America. 

The  number  of  common  names  is  a  fairly  reliable 
index  of  the  extent  to  which  a  fish  attracts  public  at- 

[191] 


40  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

tention.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  fish  shall  be  pres- 
ent in  great  numbers  but  only  that  there  shall  be  some 
quality  which  sets  it  off  from  others.  The  Gizzard 
Shad  is  present  in  incredible  numbers  in  all  the  fresh 
and  brackish  water  from  Minnesota  to  Texas  but  it 
has  hardly  any  name  except  Shad  or  Gizzard  Shad  in 
all  that  area.  In  the  same  region  there  is  possibly  not 
one  fish  of  the  Pikes  and  Pickerels  for  every  million 
Gizzard  Shad  yet  this  smaller  group  numbers  its  names 
by  the  dozen,  because  Shad,  no  matter  how  numerous, 
are  only  a  lot  of  silvery  fish  but  the  Pike  or  Pickerel, 
no  matter  how  small,  is  unusual  and  must  be  noticed, 
if  seen. 

In  this  article  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring 
together  all  the  names  that  have  been  used  for  the 
pikes,  pickerels,  muskalonge,  Walleyed  Pike  and 
saugers.  The  last  must  be  brought  in  because  about 
half  the  names  of  the  group  of  Walleye  and  Sauger  have 
the  word  pike  or  pickerel  included  in  some  way  and 
nine  of  their  names  are  among  the  commonest  names 
of  the  pikes,  pickerels  or  muskalonge.  It  is  evident  that 
this  is  not  the  entire  list.  Careful  study  would  prob- 
ably show  that  more  than  two  hundred  names  have 
been  or  are  applied  to  this  group  of  seven  or  eight  fish. 
The  names  are  grouped  in  two  ways.  Under  the  scien- 
tific name  of  each  fish  is  given  a  list  of  all  the  names 
belonging  to  that  species.  Under  each  common  name 
is  given  a  list  of  all  the  species  to  which  it  has  been 
given. 

The  following  list  of  names  is  presented  in  the  be- 
lief that  the  name  in  common  use  is  the  correct  one, 
where  it  is  in  common  use ;  that  is,  where  it  is  part  of 
the  language  of  every  one.  The  man  who  has  been 
taught  all  his  life  that  a  certain  fish  is  a  Pickerel  must 
stop  to  think,  at  least  a  fraction  of  a  second,  before  he 
can  call  it  a  Pike.    If  he  has  a  dictionary  which  tells 

[192] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge  41 

him  that  a  man  from  a  certain  other  place  always  calls 
that  fish  Pike  he  can  translate  as  the  other  man  talks. 
For  the  sake  of  uniformity  it  is  necessary  that  the 
author  express  his  preference  in  the  matter  of  names 
for  these  fish.    They  are : 

Esox  lucius:  Rivers  and  lakes  around  the  world 
north  of  about  40°  north  latitude;  Pickerel,  Pike, 
Jack. 

Esox  masquinongy :  Upper  St.  Lawrence  River, 
lower  Great  Lakes,  rivers  and  lakes  of  Ontario  and 
western  Quebec ;  Muskalonge,  St.  Lawrence  Muska- 
longe. 

Esox  ohioensis:  Ohio  River  and  its  tributaries  in 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  (?), 
West  Virginia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Mississippi  (?) , 
Alabama,  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  ( ?)  ;  Chautau- 
qua Muskalonge,  Ohio  Muskalonge. 

Esox  immacvlatus :  Rivers  and  lakes  of  northern 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  in  the  Mississippi  basin  and 
northward  to  Hudson  Bay;  Northern  Muskalonge, 
Wisconsin  Muskalonge,  Unspotted  Muskalonge. 

Esox  niger:  Rivers  and  lakes  from  New  Bruns- 
wick to  Florida,  Louisiana,  Texas  and  Arkansas; 
Chain  Pike,  Chain  Pickerel. 

Esox  america7ius:  Rivers  and  lakes  from  Maine 
to  Florida,  Texas,  Illinois,  Michigan  and  down  the 
Great  Lakes  to  New  York ;  Trout  Pickerel  and  Long 
Island  Pickerel  in  the  East,  Grass  Pickerel  and 
Little  Pickerel  in  the  West. 

Stizostedion:  Rivers  and  lakes  of  North  America 
east  of  the  Great  Plains  and  north  of  Texas ;  WALLEYE, 
Walleyed  Pike,  Sauger.  There  are  three  species 
mixed  up  in  this  group,  but  they  are  so  closely  allied 

[193] 


42 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


that  it  is  practically  impossible  to  separate  them. 
Anglers  and  fishermen  will  always  call  large  specimens 
of  both  species  Walleye  and  small  ones  Sauger,  without 
much  reference  to  which  species  is  concerned. 

List  op  Scientific  Names  with  Cross  References. 


Esox 

A  few  names  found  in  the 
books  and  elsewhere  clearly 
belong  to  this  group  but  can 
not  be  referred  to  any  one 
species. 

Grass  Pickerel ;  Mallett's 
Bay,  Vermont. 

Jackfish;  Pond  twelve  miles 
north  of  Houston,  Texas. 

Long  Face;  Maine, 

Silver  Pike;  Northern  Michi- 
gan eastward  to  Georgian 
Bay. 

Tiger  Muskalonge;  Wiscon- 
sin (probably  usually  Esox 
immaculatus,  but  occasion- 
ally surely  Esox  lucius). 

Esox  americanus 

Banded  Pickerel;  Massachu- 
setts to  New  Jersey  and  oc- 
casionally elsewhere. 

Ditch  Pike;  New  Jersey. 

Grass  Pickerel;  general,  es- 
pecially western. 

Grass  Pike;  general,  es- 
pecially western. 

Humpbacked  Pickerel;  Wat- 
erford,  Oakland  County, 
Michigan. 

Jack;  North  Carolina. 

Little  Pickerel;  general. 

Little  Western  Pickerel;  gen- 
eral. 

Long  Island  Pickerel;  south- 
eastern New  York. 

Mackerel  Pike;  a  book  name 
proposed  from  southeastern 
New  York  but  not  in  use 
recently. 


Mountain  Trout;  Spring  Val- 
ley Creek,  Shannon  County, 
Missouri,  R.  E.  Call. 

Mud  Pike;  New  Jersey. 

Piccanau;  Indian.  This  name 
is  recorded  by  Goode  in 
"American  Fishes."  Ap- 
parently that  author  was 
confused  in  his  identifica- 
tions and  his  "Western 
Pickerel,"  which  is  said  to 
reach  a  weight  of  twenty 
pounds  in  Mississippi,  was 
probably  Esox  ohioensis. 

Pickerel;  a  book  name  which 
has  wide  circulation  in  lit- 
erature but  which  has 
hardly  come  into  the  com- 
mon speech  of  fishermen. 

Pike ;  this  seems  to  be  a  fairly 
well  distributed  common 
name  from  eastern  Mary- 
land to  Florida. 

Pond  Pickerel ;  occasional 
from  Maine  to  southern 
New  York. 

Pond  Pike;  reported  by  G.  B. 
Goode  in  ''American 
Fishes"  but  locality  not 
given. 

Red-Finned  Pike;  North  Car- 
olina. 

Short-Billed  Pike;  New  Jer- 
sey. 

Smaller  Pickerel;  New  Eng- 
land. 

Trout  Pickerel;  New  Eng- 
land States  and  western 
Pennsylvania. 

Troutnose  Pickerel ;  New 
England  (?). 

Varied  Pickerel ;  southern 
New  York. 


[194  1 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


43 


Western  Pickerel;  general. 
Western     Trout     Pickerel ; 

western  Pennsylvania. 
Yearling    Pickerel ;     S  o  d  u  s 

Bay,  New  York. 

Esox  immaculatus 

Barred  Muskalonge;  Wiscon- 
sin. 

Chauteaugay  Lake  Pike; 
This  name  was  mentioned 
in  the  "American  Angler," 
vol.  15,  p.  17.  It  is  prob- 
ably a  misprint  for  Chau- 
tauqua Lake  Pike  and  may 
refer  to  Esox  ohioensis. 

Great  Northern  Pike;  north- 
western Wisconsin. 

Longe;  general. 

Lunge;  general. 

Muskalonge ;  general,  see 
under  Esox  masquinongy 
for  about  forty  ways  of 
spelling  this  name. 

Musky;  general. 

Northern  Muskalonge ;  sub- 
stitute proposed  for  Un- 
spotted Muskalonge. 

Plain  Muskalonge;  name  pro- 
posed by  Becker. 

Tiger;   Wisconsin. 

Tiger  Muskalonge;  Wiscon- 
sin. 

Tiger  Musky;   Wisconsin. 

Unspotted  Muskalonge;  Wis- 
consin. 

Unspotted  Pike;  Lake  Pepin; 
perhaps  used  as  a  descrip- 
tion rather  than  a  name. 
Quoted  in  "American  An- 
gler," vol.  9,  p.  387. 

Wasserwolf;  name  used  by 
O.  W.  Smith  for  all  the 
species  of  Muskalonge. 

Wisconsin  Muskalonge;  Wis- 
consin. 

Esox  lucius 

Brocket;  France. 
Canada  Pike;   Ontario,  Can- 
ada. 


Channel  Pickerel;  Thousand 
Islands,  St.  Lawrence 
River. 

Chuk-Whuk;  Alaska  Indians. 

Common  Pike;  general. 

Duck-Billed  Pickerel;  Illi- 
nois-Wisconsin. 

Duck-Billed  Pike;  Illinois- 
Wisconsin. 

Eithinyoo  -  Cannooshoeoo; 
Creek  Indians  in  Canada. 

English  Jackfish;  Ontario, 
Canada. 

English  Pike;  Ontario,  Can- 
ada. 

Grass  Pickerel;  Illinois. 
Grass   Pike;    Western   Penn- 
sylvania (?). 

Great  Lake  Pickerel;  no  lo- 
cality (Thaddeus  Norris). 

Great  Lakes  Pike;  northern 
United  States. 

Great  Northern  Lake  Pick- 
erel; no  locality  (Thaddeus 
Norris). 

Great  Northern  Pickerel; 
northern  North  America. 

Great  Northern  Pike;  Wis- 
consin. 

Great  Pike;  name  proposed 
by  O.  W.  Smith. 

Hecht;  Germany. 

Jack;  Chicago  Fish  Markets 
and  parts  of  Canada  where 
Stizostedion  is  called  Pick- 
erel. 

Jackfish;  Manitoba. 

Lake  Pickerel ;  Northern 
Ohio. 

Lake  Pike;  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Luccio;  Italy. 

Marsh  Pickerel ;  Thousand 
Islands,  St.  Lawrence 
River. 

Luce;  England. 

Northern  Lake  Pike;  No  par- 
ticular locality  indicated. 


[196] 


44 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


Northern  Pike;  No  particu- 
lar locality  indicated. 

Pickerel ;  northern  United 
States,  Canada  where  Sti- 
zostedion  is  not  called  Pick- 
erel, England  (young  fish). 

Pike ;  general  in  northern 
United  States  and  Canada 
where  Stizostedion  is  not 
called  Pike;  England  (adult 
fish).  In  North  America  it 
almost  always  is  used  as  a 
book  name.  The  angler 
generally  has  a  local  name 
which  he  uses  unless  he  is 
"talking  up"  to  a  visitor. 

Short  Pickerel;  Thousand  Is- 
lands, St.  Lawrence  River. 

Shovelnose  Pike;  northern 
Michigan  and  western  On- 
tario. 

Silver  Pike;  northern  Mich- 
igan(?). 

Slinker;  St.  Lawrence  River 
region. 

Snake;  Wisconsin. 

Snake  Eater;  Cheboygan, 
Michigan. 

Wasserwolf;  Germany. 

Yearling  Pickerel;  Sodus 
Bay,  N.  Y.  (young). 

Esox  masquinongy 

Black-Spotted  Pike;  a  name 
published  in  sporting  mag- 
azines by  General  Garrard, 
perhaps  intended  more  as 
a  description  than  as  a 
name. 

Blue  Pike;  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania (?). 

Great  Pike;  general. 

Kinonge;  eastern  Canada. 

Longe;  general. 

Lunge;  general. 

Mascallonge; 

Mascalonge; 

Mascalonge 

Mascanongy; 


Maskalinge 

Maskallonge; 

Maskalonge; 

Maskalonge ; 

Maskanonge; 

Mas-ke-non-ge; 

Maskenonza; 

Maskenonzay; 

Maskenosha ; 

Maskenozha; 

Mas-Kinoje; 

Maskinonge; 

Maskinonge ; 

Maskinongy; 

Maskinonje; 

Masquallonge; 

Masque-allonge; 

Masquenouge ; 

Masquinongy; 

Muscalinga; 

Muscallonge; 

Muscallunge; 

Muscalonge; 

Muscalunge; 

Muskallonge; 

Muskallunge; 

Muskalonge; 

Muskalunge; 

Maskalunge ; 

Muskellonge; 

Muskellunge ; 

Muskinlonge; 

Muskinonge; 

Musk-ka-lone; 

Muskullunge ; 

Musquallonge; 

Musquellunge ; 

Noscononge; 

all  these  variations  of  the 
spelling  of  this  name  have 
been  published  and  have  re- 
ceived more  or  less  recog- 
nition. 

Musky;  general. 


[196] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


45 


Pike;  the  use  of  this  name 
for  a  Muskalonge  is  prob- 
ably entirely  obsolete,  ex- 
cept for  Esox  ohioensis. 

Spotted  Muskalonge;  New 
York. 

Wasserwolf;  name  used  by 
O.  W.  Smith  for  all  species 
of  Muskalonge. 

Esox  niger 

Black  Pike;  Dismal  Swamp 
and  other  regions  of  black 
water  along  the  south  At- 
lantic coast  states. 

Chain  Pickerel;  rather  gen- 
eral, but  has  little  currency 
outside  of  books. 

Chain  Pike;  mostly  a  book 
name  of  rather  wide  ap- 
plication. 

Common  Eastern  Pickerel; 
New  Jersey. 

Duck-Billed  Pike ;  North 
Carolina. 

Eastern  Pickerel;  New  York. 
Federation    Pike;    Oneida 
Lake,  New  York. 

Green  Pike;  Pennsylvania. 
Jack;      North     Carolina     to 
Florida. 

Jackfish;  Hawkinsville,  Geor- 
gia. 

Lake  Pickerel; 

Lake  Pike; 

Pickerel;  general. 

Pike;  general. 

Pond  Pickerel;  Lake  Cham- 
plain  region. 

Pond  Pike;  New  Jersey. 

Red-Finned  Pike;  North  Car- 
olina. 

Reticulated  Pickerel;  a  book 
name  which  never  gained 
much  recognition. 

Esox  ohioensis 

Alleghany  River  Pike;  Alle- 
ghany River  valley. 


Barred  Muskalonge;  general. 
Blue   Pike;    Wheeling,   West 
Virginia. 

Brocket  saumonne;  Ohio. 

Chautauqua  Lake  Muska- 
longe; western  New  York. 

Chautauqua  Lake  Pike;  west- 
ern New  York. 

Chautauqua  Muskalonge; 
western  New  York. 

Chautauqua  Pike;  western 
New  York. 

Jack;  North  Carolina. 

Kentucky  Pike;  Kentucky 
River  valley. 

Kentucky  River  Pike;  Ken- 
tucky River  valley. 

Longe;  general. 

Lunge;  general. 

Mahoning  Pike ;  western 
Pennsylvania. 

Muskingum  River  Pike ; 
southeastern  Ohio. 

Musky;  general. 

Ohio  Muskalonge;   general. 

Ohio  Pike(?). 

Ohio  River  Pike;  southern 
Ohio. 

Picanau  Blanc;  Ohio. 

Piccanau;  Ohio. 

Picareau  Blanc;  Missouri. 

Pickerel;  western  New  York. 

Pike;  Ohio  River  valley. 

Salmon  Pike;  Missouri. 

Wasserwolf;  a  name  applied 
by  O.  W.  Smith  to  all  spe- 
cies of  Muskalonge. 

White  Jack;  Missouri. 

White  Pickerel;  Missouri. 

White  Pickerel  of  the  West; 
Ohio. 

White  Pike;  Missouri. 

Stizostedion 

Common  names  of  this 
group  are  so  confused  that  no 
attempt   has    been   jnade   to 


[197] 


46 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


separate  names  belonging 
only  to  the  Saugers  from 
those  belonging  only  to  the 
Walleye.  It  is  probable  that 
practically  all  the  names  are 
applied  to  either. 
Blowfish;    Mississippi   Valley 

Blue  Pickerel;  Ontario,  Can- 
ada. 

Blue  Pike;  general. 

Brook  Trout;  North  Caro- 
lina. 

California  Salmon ;  North 
Carolina. 

Champlain  Pike;  Schroon 
Lake,  New  York. 

Common  Pike;   Great  Lakes. 

Dore;   Canada. 

Doree;   Canada. 

Dory;  Canada. 

Glass-Eye;  Great  Lakes  re- 
gion. 

Golden  Perch;  name  given  in 
the  "American  Angler," 
vol.  4,  p.  357,  apparently 
as  a  description  rather 
than  as  a  true  name. 

Golden  Trout;  North  Caro- 
lina. 

Grass  Pike;  Great  Lakes  re- 
gion. 

Gray  Perch;  Eastern  Canada. 

Gray    Pike;     New    York    to 

Ohio. 
Gray  Pike  Perch;  New  York. 

Green  Pike;  Great  Lakes  re- 
gion. 

Ground  Pike;  Lake  Cham- 
plain. 

Ground  Pike  Perch;  Ver- 
mont. 

Hornfish;  Fur  traders  of 
British   Columbia. 

Horse-Eye  Pickerel;  Eastern, 
Canada. 

Horse-Fish;  Great  Lakes  re- 
gion. 


Jack;  Ohio  Valley  and  west- 
ern North  Carolina. 

Jack  Salmon;  Ohio  valley. 

Ohio  Pike;  Ohio. 

Ohio     Salmon;     Ohio     River 

valley. 
Okow;  Cree  Indians. 
Perch  Pike;   Eastern  States. 
Picarel;  French  Canadians. 
Pickerel;  Eastern  Canada. 

Pickering;  Great  Lakes  re- 
gion. 

Pike;  general. 

Pike  Perch;   Eastern  States. 

River  Trout;  North  Carolina. 

Rock  Pike;  St.  Johnsbury, 
Vermont. 

Salmon;  Susquehanna  River; 
Kentucky  River;  Tennes- 
see River. 

Saltwater  Pike ;  Pasquotank 
River,  North  Carolina. 

Sand  Pickerel;  Eastern  Can- 
ada. 

Sand  Pike;  general. 

Sauger;  general. 

Sanger  Pike; 

Spike  Nose;  Cape  Vincent; 
New  York. 

Susquehanna  Salmon;  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Walleye;  general. 

Walleyed  Pike;  accepted  as  a 
common  name  in  western 
New  York;  generally  com- 
mon as  a  book  name. 

White  Perch ;  Vermont. 

White  Salmon ;  Ohio  Valley, 

Yellow  Pickerel ;  generally 
common  among  market 
fishermen. 

Yellow  Pike;  generally  com- 
mon among  market  fisher- 
men. 

Yellow  Pike  Perch;  New 
York. 


[198] 


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Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


47 


List  of  Common  Names  with  Cross  References. 


Allegheny  River  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Banded  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Barred  Muskalonge 
Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Black  Pike 
Esox  niger, 

Black  Spotted  Pike 
Esox  masquinongy. 

Blowfish 

Stizostedion. 

Blue  Pickerel 
Stizostedion. 

Blue  Pike 

Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis, 
Stizostedion. 

Brochet 

Esox  lucius. 

Brochet  saumonne 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Brook  Trout 
Stizostedion. 

California  Salmon 

Stizostedion. 
Canada  Pike 

Esox  lucius. 
Chain  Pickerel 

Esox  niger. 

Chain  Pike 
Esox  niger. 

Channel  Pickerel 

Esox  lucius. 
Champlain  Pike 

Stizostedio7i. 

Chateaugay  Lake  Pike 
Esox  immaculatus,  prob- 
ably a  misprint  for  Chau- 
tauqua Lake  Pike. 

Chautauqua  Lake  Muskalonge 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Chautauqua  Lake  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Chautauqua  Muskalonge 
Esox  ohioensis. 


Chautauqua  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Chuk-Wuk 

Esox  lucius. 
Common  Eastern  Pickerel 

Esox  niger. 

Common  Pike 
Esox  lucius. 
Stizostedion. 

Ditch  Pike 

Esox  americanus. 

Dore 

Stizostedion. 

Doree 

Stizostedion. 

Dory 

Stizostedion. 

Duck-!^illed  Pickerel 

Esox^ucius, 
Esox-niger. 

Duck-Billed  Pike 

Esox  lumus, 

Esox.   masquinongy. 
Eastern  Pickerel 

Esox  niger. 
Eithinyoo-Cannooshoeoo 

Esox  lucius 

English  Jackfish 

Esox  lucius. 
English  Pike 

Esox  lucius. 
Federation  Pike 

Esox  niger. 

Glass-Eye 

Stizostedion. 

Golden  Trout 

Stizostedioji. 

Grass  Pickerel 
Esox, 
Esox  lucius. 

Grass  Pike 

Esox  americanus, 

Esox  lucius, 

Stizostedion. 
Gray  Perch 

Stizostedion. 

Gray  Pike 
Stizostedion. 


[199] 


48 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  HistoFwY 


Gray  Pike  Perch 

Stizostedio7i. 
Great  Lake  Pickerel 

Esox  lucius. 

Great  Lakes  Pike 
Esox  lucius. 

Great  Northern  Lake  Pick- 
erel 
Esox  lucius. 

Great  Northern  Pickerel 
Esox  lucius. 

Great  Northern  Pike 
Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  lucius. 

Great  Pike 
Esox  lucius, 
Esox  masquinongy. 

Green  Pike 
Esox  niger. 
Stizostedion. 

Ground  Pike 
Stizostedion. 

Ground  Pike  Perch 

Stizostedion. 

Hecht 

Esox  lucius. 

Hornfish 

Stizostedion. 

Horse-Eye  Pickerel 
Stizostedion. 

Horse  Fish 
Stizostedion. 

Hump-Back  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Jack 

Esox  americanus, 
Esox  lucius, 
Esox  niger. 
Esox  ohioensis, 
Stizostedion. 

Jackfish 

Esox, 

Esox  lucius, 

Esox  niger. 
Jack  Salmon 

Stizostedion. 
Kentucky  River  Pike 

Esox  ohioensis. 
Kentucky  Pike 

Esox  ohioensis. 


Kinonge 

Esox  masquinongy. 

Lake  Pickerel 
Esox  lucius, 
Esox  niger(?). 

Lake  Pike 
Esox  lucius, 
Esox  niger(?). 

Little  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Little  Western  Pickerel 
Esox  americamis. 

Longe 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Long-Face 

Esox. 

Long  Island  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Luccio 

Esox  lucius. 

Luce 

Esox  lucius. 

Lunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Mackerel  Pike 
Esox  americanus. 

Mahoning  Pike 

Esox  ohioensis. 
Marsh  Pickerel 

Esox  lucius. 

Mascallonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Mascalonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Mascalonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Mascanongy 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 


[200] 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


49 


Maskalinge 

Esox  immaculatus. 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioerisis. 

Maskallonge 

Esox  iynmaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskalonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskalonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskanonge 

Esox  imm^aculattis, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Mas-ke-non-ge 

Esox  immaculatiis, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskenonza 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskenonzay 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskenosha 

Esox  immactilatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskenozha 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskinoje 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskinonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskinonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 


Maskinongy 

Esox  immac7ilatits, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Maskinonje 

Esox  hnmac^datus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Masquallonge 

Esox  im.m.aculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Masque-allonge 
Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Masquenouge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Masquinongy 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Mountain  Trout 
Esox  americanus. 

Mud  Pike 

Esox  americanus. 

Muscalinga 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muscallonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muscallunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquino7igy , 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muscalonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muscalunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskallonge 

Esox  immaculatiis, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 


[201] 


50 


Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 


Muskallunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskalonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  m,asquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskalunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskalunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskellonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskellunge 

Esox  im.m.aculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskingum  River  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskinlonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskinonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Musk-ka-lone 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Musky 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Muskullunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Musquallonge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Musquellunge 

Esox  immaculatus, 


Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Northern  Lake  Pike 

Esox  lucius. 
Northern  Muskalonge 

Esox  iniTnaculatus. 
Northern  Pike 

Esox  lucius. 

Noscononge 

Esox  immaculatus, 
Esox  masquinongy, 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Ohio  Muskalonge 
£■800;  ohioensis. 

Ohio  Pike 

Esox  ohioensis  ( ? ) , 
Stizostedion. 

Ohio  River  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Ohio  Salmon 
Stizostedion. 

Okow 

Stizostedion. 

Perch  Pike 
Stizostedion. 

Picanau  Blanc 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Picareau  Blanc 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Picarel 

Stizostedion. 
Piccanau 

Esox  ohioensis  ( ? ) , 

Esox  americanus. 
Pickerel 

Esox  americanus, 

Esox  lucius, 

Esox  niger, 

Esox  ohioensis, 

Stizostedion. 
Pickering 

Stizostedion. 
Pike 

Esox  americanus, 

Esox  lucius, 

Esox  masquinongy, 

Esox  niger. 

Esox  ohioensis, 

Stizostedion. 
Pike  Perch 

Stizostedion. 


[202  1 


Pike,  Pickerel  and  Muskalonge 


51 


Plain  Muskalonge 
Esox  immaculaUis. 

Pond  Pickerel 

Esox  americanns{1) , 
Esox  niger. 

Pond  Pike 

Esox  americanus, 
Esox  niger. 

Red-Finned  Pike 
Esox  americanus, 
Esox  niger. 

Reticulated  Pickerel 
Esox  niger. 

River  Trout 
Stizostedion. 

Rock  Pike 
Stizostedion. 

Salmon 

Stizostedion. 

Salmon  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Saltwater  Pike 
Stizostedion. 

Sand  Pickerel 
Stizostedion. 

Sand  Pike 
Stizostedion. 

Sauger 

Stizostedion. 
Sauger  Pike 

Stizostedion. 

Short-Billed  Pike 
Esox  americanus. 

Short  Pickerel 
Esox  lucius. 

Short  Pike 
Esox  lucius. 

Shovelnose  Pike 
Esox  lucius. 

Silver  Pike 

Esox  lucius. 
Slinker 

Esox  lucius. 

Smaller  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Snake 

Esox  lucius. 


Snake  Eater 
Esox  lucius. 

Spike  Nose 

Stizostedion. 
Spotted  Muskalonge 

Esox  'rnasquinongy. 
Susquehanna  Salmon 

Stizostedion. 
Tiger 

Esox. 

Esox  immaculatus. 

Tiger  Muskalonge 

Esox, 

Esox  immaculatus. 
Tiger  Musky 

Esox  immaculatus. 
Trout  Pickerel 

Esox  americanus 

Troutnose  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Unspotted  Muskalonge 

Esox  immaculatus. 
Unspotted  Pike 

Esox  immaculatus. 
Varied  Pickerel 

Esox  americamis. 
Wasserwolf 

Esox  immaculatus, 

Esox  lucius, 

Esox  rnasquinongy, 

Esox  ohioensis. 

Western  Pickerel 
Esox  americanus. 

Western  Trout  Pickerel 

Esox  americanus. 
White  Jack 

Esox  ohioensis. 
White  Perch 

Esox  ohioensis. 

White  Pickerel 
Esox  ohioensis. 

White  Pickerel  of  the  West 
Esox  ohioensis. 

White  Pike 
Esox  ohioensis. 

White  Salmon 
Esox  ohioensis. 

Wisconsin  Muskalonge 
Esox  iynmaculatus. 


[203  J 


52  Field  Museum  of  Natural  History 

Yearling  Pickerel  Yellow  Pike 

Esox  lucius,  Stizostedion. 

Esox  americanus.  ,^  ,,        -,.,      _      , 

Yellow  Pike  Perch 
Yellow  Pickerel  Stizostedion. 

Esox  niger. 
Stizostedion. 

Alfred  C.  Weed, 
Assistaiit  Curator  of  Fishes. 


[204  1 


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